A History of Marketing

A History of Marketing / Bonus Episode This week’s conversation with Paul Feldwick was so packed with histories and insights that I simply couldn't fit everything into one episode. So, I cut out one of my favorite parts to share with you as a separate “Bonus Episode.” (Even if you’ve heard the main episode, this will be new to you.) Paul shares the behind-the-scenes story of the iconic 1990s Barcl...

A History of Marketing / Episode 30 What if core concepts like the USP, ad recall, and the sales funnel aren't timeless truths, but just ideas that happened to catch on? What if even the people who invented and promoted these ideas didn’t always follow their own advice? This week, I’m joined by Paul Feldwick , a career ad man who has spent the last two decades analyzing his industry through a hist...

A History of Marketing / Episode 29 I’ve made an oversight that needs correcting. For a podcast about marketing history, we've almost exclusively focused on consumer brands. We’ve barely touched on business-to-business marketing, even though B2B makes up a larger sector of the global economy. In marketing textbooks and industry coverage, B2C campaigns tend to grab the headlines while B2B marketers...

A History of Marketing / Episode 28 There are nearly two billion Muslims in the world, members of a faith with more than a thousand years of history, commerce, and culture. Global brands are increasingly vying for their attention and disposable income. So what exactly is Islamic marketing, and how does it differ from simply putting a "Halal" label on a product? To answer that question, there’s no...

A History of Marketing / Episode 27 This week, I’m excited to share a timely conversation with author, filmmaker, and activist Jean Kilbourne . Kilbourne is recognized as the pioneer of feminist advertising criticism, and is best known for her influential documentary series, Killing Us Softly . Since its release in 1979, Killing Us Softly has been essential viewing in classrooms across the United...

A History of Marketing / Episode 26 Today marks the first day of San Diego Comic-Con 2025 , which feels like a fitting time to explore the incredible intersection of comics and marketing. Comics were once a niche, nerdy subculture but for the past two decades they’ve grown to dominate the global box office and are at the center of pop culture. So how did comics market themselves to the masses? To...

A History of Marketing / Episode 25 I wanted to do something special for the 25th episode of "A History of Marketing." While I love the conversational format of the podcast, I stumbled upon a story so incredible, so important, that it demanded a different approach. This story is told in a documentary format that took 10X the usual effort to produce. That story belongs to Wroe Alderson. Ever heard...

A History of Marketing / Episode 24 What does it take to build a brand that endures? Few people on earth can answer that question better than David Aaker . David Aaker, AKA the "Father of Modern Branding," is back to mark the launch of the 2nd edition Aaker on Branding . This book distills decades of Aaker’s work, covering brand strategy, portfolio management and execution. Our conversation is a g...

A History of Marketing / Episode 23 This week, I'm joined by Bill Moult , an entrepreneur and executive who spent his career at the center of the marketing data revolution. Bill has served as CEO and President of companies central to advertising research, new product forecasting, brand metrics, and media measurement. Bill also served as President of the Marketing Science Institute , an influential...

A History of Marketing / Episode 22 Today marks Sir Paul McCartney’s 83rd birthday. To celebrate, I’m publishing my excellent interview with Ian Leslie . Ian’s the author of the New York Times bestseller: John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs , published in April. It’s my favorite book I’ve read this year. It tells the story of the creative partnership at the heart of the most influential band in his...

A History of Marketing / Episode 21 This week, I'm delighted to be joined by Professor Rachel Kennedy , Associate Director (Product Development) of the renowned Ehrenberg-Bass Institute . The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science is a leading organization in research on how to grow brands. Professor Kennedy herself ranks globally in the top 1% of advertising researchers and is highly rega...

A History of Marketing / Episode 20 This week, I'm thrilled to be joined by Richard S. Tedlow , the MBA Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. Professor Tedlow is a renowned specialist in the history of business, an acclaimed author, and a truly engaging storyteller. Tedlow also the author behind the popular Substack, Dystopias and Demagogues .A...

A History of Marketing / Episode 19 This week I’m excited to be joined by Laura Ries , a leading marketing strategist, speaker, and bestselling author. Laura is also the daughter of Al Ries (1926-2022), the legendary marketer who's best known for popularizing the concept of positioning, along with his partner and co-author, Jack Trout (1935-2017). Laura and Al Ries co-founded RIES , the global pos...

A History of Marketing / Episode 18 This week, I'm thrilled to welcome Nino Carvalho , a professor, author, and marketing consultant based in Portugal. I actually discovered Carvalho and his work thanks to a podcast listener who brought him to my attention via a YouTube comment. After connecting with Nino and reading translations of his publications (he primarily writes in Portuguese), he has beco...

A History of Marketing / Episode 17 This week we're mixing up the usual format. I've been publishing this podcast for a few months now, so I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the conversations I've had so far, talk about what I've learned, and share a behind-the-scenes look at how the podcast is going. Spoiler alert: I think it's going great. I recruited my friend Scott Morris , Crea...

A History of Marketing / Episode 16 Tune into any major sporting event, and corporate sponsorship saturate the screen. Colossal logos sprawl across stadium rooftops. They adorn the smallest patch on a player's jersey. From pre-game shows to post-game analysis, from breakfast cereal to beer cans, from charitable causes to gambling apps, sponsorships are inseparable from sports. Sports and sponsorsh...

A History of Marketing / Episode 15 This is not a current events podcast, but this episode is more timely than usual. I’m joined by Gabriele Carboni , a marketer, author, consultant based in Italy. I met Carboni through Philip Kotler . Together they co-authored the book, “ Enlightened Management ” which is about how Impact Marketing can have a positive impact for people and the planet. Gabriele Ca...

A History of Marketing / Episode 14 If you listened to my first podcast with Philip Kotler , you heard Phil discuss marketing emerging in the early 1900s as a form of “applied economics.” This week, my guest Mark Tadajewski shares research that casts doubt on that version of events, revealing a narrative of early marketing history that is much more complex than the traditional story and veers into...

A History of Marketing / Episode 13 "Place" might be the most often overlooked of the four P’s in the marketing mix, but it encompasses channels and distribution. Power dynamics and conflicts between companies (and sometimes within them) shape how products reach their customers. Few have influenced our understanding of marketing channels more than Louis Stern . Lou is the John D. Gray Distinguishe...

A History of Marketing / Episode 12 “My philosophy about the marketing function is that it's the interface between the organization and its markets.” - George Day This week, we’re joined by Professor George Day , a renowned author, educator, and researcher. Day is the Geoffrey T. Boise Emeritus Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania , where he founded the Mack Institute...

A History of Marketing / Episode 11 When and where did modern branding really begin? The usual narrative suggests it started during the Industrial Revolution, when the UK and the US began mass producing goods. This week, we’re challenging that story with my guest Giana Eckhardt , Professor of Marketing at King's College London, whose research reveals sophisticated branding practices thrived in Imp...

A History of Marketing / Episode 10 (Part 2) “Some critics will say Coca-Cola has made a marketing mistake, and some cynics say that we planned the whole thing. The truth is we're not that dumb, and we're not that smart.” - Don Keough, Former President of Coca-Cola in 1985 We go beyond the headlines of New Coke and hear Zyman’s first-hand account of: The Internal Battles: How resistance to changin...

A History of Marketing / Episode 10 (Part 1) “Marketing is about selling more stuff to more people more often for more money more efficiently. That's what marketing is.” - Sergio Zyman This week, I’m joined by a marketing iconoclast: Sergio Zyman . Wikipedia describes Zyman as being “best known as the marketer behind the failed launch of New Coke and the success of Diet Coke, Fruitopia, Surge, and...

A History of Marketing / Episode 9 This week, I sit down with Dr. Robert Cialdini, a NYT bestselling author and Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Cialdini is regarded as “The Godfather of Influence” and The Harvard Business Review describes him as “the foremost expert on effective persuasion.” This is a special conversation for me. Cialdini’s 1984...

A History of Marketing / Episode 8 “Anytime there was a budget cut, marketing was cut first. So I took it personally to make executives believe marketing is an investment, not an expense. The only way you can prove that is to show the ROI of marketing.” - V. Kumar This week, we have a marketing titan joining us: Dr. V. Kumar , also known as “VK.” He's among the most cited and influential scholars...