Should marketing and marketers really change?

David Wolfe's recent blog posts about the marketing discipline are thought provoking.

In Why Marketing Under performs he addresses the fact that marketers, unlike engineers, have no common foundation. Unlike engineering, which has a mathematical foundation, marketing does not have a universally accepted theoretical foundation. Without such, marketers are free to spout their own opinions (and are constantly defending those opinions) on what works and doesn't, making it a largely an inefficient discipline.

Granted, with a common theoretical foundation our marketing programs and campaigns might be more effective. In fact, the sub-discipline of direct or database marketing does operate with some level of a common foundation that relies more on the left-brain to develop and analyze campaigns.

I can tell you that as a data-driven marketer, I've often been at odds with those in advertising or general marketing/marketing communications. Often they don't get what we do and will defend to the death the "pretty" campaign as what will generate response, when I know--based on tested results--that my "ugly" 4-page text-driven letter will be the one that makes the cash register ring.

Interestingly, my Dad--an accountant who worked with engineers most of his career-- says, "Engineer's study the same text books." Another way of saying engineers have a common foundation, but perhaps a more telling statement. The structured approach is valuable for many fields, including engineering, where a common understanding is critical for both past and future projects. But is this true of marketing?

While understanding human behavior is important to marketing, human behavior arguably, can and does change over time. Plus, the products and services promoted and sold with marketing can be vastly different; therefore undermining, at least in my mind, the value of common theoretical foundation.

Should marketing really change? Probably not. After all, the right-brained marketers are the ones that drive innovation in our field. As long as they're paired with left-brained marketers, I think they're still a useful bunch. ;)

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