Strategy
Weekend Reading: “Marketing 4.0” by Philip Kotler

Weekend Reading: “Marketing 4.0” by Philip Kotler

December 9, 2016
2 min read

For the 100th episode of The Marketing Book Podcast I was thrilled to interview Dr. Philip Kotler, the man widely regarded at “The Father of Modern Marketing.”

A faculty member since 1962 of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Dr. Kotler is the author of over 55 marketing books (translated into more than 25 languages), including “Marketing Management” (now in its 15th edition), “Principles of Marketing,” “Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets,” and “Marketing 3.0: From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit.”

In this book, co-authored with Hermawan Kartajaya and Iwan Setiawan, “Marketing 4.0: Moving From Traditional to Digital” Dr. Kotler explains:

Marketing 4.0 is a marketing approach that combines online and offline interaction between companies and customers. In the digital economy, digital interaction alone is not sufficient. In fact, in an increasingly online world, offline touch represents a strong differentiation. Marketing 4.0 also blends style with substance. While it is imperative for brands to be more flexible and adaptive due to rapid technological trends, their authentic characters are more important than ever. In an increasingly transparent world, authenticity is the most valuable asset.

The book explains the three power shifts that are shaping our world (the shifts to a more horizontal, inclusive, and social business landscape) and explains how connectivity has fundamentally changed human lives and how connectivity is the most important game changer in the history of marketing.

The core of the book discusses how marketers can boost productivity by understanding customer paths in the digital era. It introduces a new set of marketing metrics and a whole new way of looking at marketing practices (goodbye AIDA, hello 5 A’s).

The book also covers the importance of content marketing (“Content Is the New Ad, #Hashtag Is the New Tagline.”) and why brand need to better embrace their humanity:

Marketers need to adapt to this new reality and create brands that behave like humans— approachable and likeable but also vulnerable. Brands should become less intimidating. They should become authentic and honest, admit their flaws, and stop trying to seem perfect.

My perspective on “Marketing 4.0”

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Douglas Burdett

Douglas Burdett is the Principal of Artillery, a B2B marketing agency and is host of The Marketing Book Podcast. He is a former artillery officer, Madison Avenue ad man and stand-up comedian.

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