Biography

Philip KOTLER

2009 ranking: 9

Philip Kotler (b. 1931) is the S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. Apart from his teaching and writing Kotler has worked as a marketing and consultant to many of America’s top companies.

Although his name is now inseparable from marketing Kotler trained as an economist. He gained a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He returned to Chicago to complete post-doctoral research in behavioral sciences, as well as undertaking research in mathematics at Harvard.

When it comes to marketing Philip Kotler wrote THE book on the subject. His Marketing Management: Application, Planning, Implementation and Control (1967), now in its twelfth edition, is the core text of marketing courses on most MBA programmes.

Peter Drucker was the first to urge management to take marketing seriously. It was not just as a fancy form of salesmanship, but one of the most important company functions (along with innovation). Before Kotler marketing was synonymous with the marketing mix and the four Ps (product, pricing, place and promotion). The marketing concept was much broader, and the 4Ps had to be redefined too. Central to the book is the need for companies to actively create and nurture markets. “Good companies will meet needs; great companies will create markets,” This involved areas such as marketing planning, market research and customer relationship management. Kotler has written that marketing is vital to ‘value creation and raising the world’s living standards.” It is “meeting needs profitably.” He has always tried to expand discussions about marketing beyond production and service provision. He has written books on the marketing of places, ideas and celebrities (High Visibility (1987). He has also produced works for specialist audiences like Not-for-Profit organisations, religious congregations, even museums. He believes that the most satisfying marketing job in the world is bringing “more health and education to people and making a real difference in their quality of life.”

The business world has changed a lot since Marketing Management was first published. The nature of the four Ps had undergone transformation. Kotler considers that they are still important “building-blocks”, but that each one has developed its own sub-set of tools. Instead of just a marketing mix there is a pricing mix, a positioning mix and so on. Markets and media have become more sophisticated. The power of brands has grown. So too have the means by which producers and providers can create awareness. Marketing is now a global activity. The world of marketing is dynamic. He has conducted research into the impact of the Internet on the Marketing concept. This is contained in one of his latest book Marketing Moves (2002). This talks about holistic marketing “ … where a company combines the informational power of enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, and customer relationship management to leverage greater success in the marketplace.” This often leads to collaborative networks using the Internet, corporate Intranets and Extranets to achieve growth. It is holistic because it no longer sees marketing as a discrete, department-bound activity. It must become the “the architect of the company’s demand-and-supply chain and its network of collaborators.” Marketing has to be at the centre of business activity. It must concentrate on customers. “Customer focus is critical in a world no longer marked by a shortage of goods but by a shortage of customers.” He has looked at companies like amazon.com It initially seemed to possess great competitive advantage because it did not have huge physical assets. It had to spend huge amounts on marketing to build its brand and retain customer loyalty. Kotler also believes that “M marketing” using mobile devices like mobile ‘phones, will also grow in importance. Marketing managers will have to develop skills in

• Database management and data mining
• Partnership relationship management
• Telemarketing and call-centre management
• Customization of offerings, services and messages
• Experiential marketing

He also foresees marketing managers having access to “real time” information dashboards. This will allow them to track prices, costs and sales of individual products in real time.

Essential Reading
Marketing Management (1967): 12th edition (with Kevin Keller) (2005).
Principles of Marketing (1999)
Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life (2002).
Marketing Moves: A New Approach to Profits, Growth & Renewal (2002).

All Biographies