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Marketing

As is the case with many business fields, marketing is both a profession and an academic discipline. Effective reference work with marketing questions requires the librarian to know how to help practitioners and how to help faculty and students. The core competencies discussed here provide the knowledge to answer the majority of marketing questions at a typical general reference desk. Many sources will be useful to both practitioners and academics.

The word "marketing" is often used as an umbrella term to cover several different categories. These categories include advertising, market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community involvement. People often think of marketing and advertising as the same thing, but they are not. Advertising is one aspect of marketing, as are the other categories listed above. More specifically, marketing is the process of moving goods and services from the producer to the consumer, while advertising is the conveying a message to promote the sale or use of a good or service. For business reference purposes, marketing most often refers to market research and advertising.

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Buying Power Index (or BPI) - a measurement developed by Sales & Marketing Management (magazine), which combines three elements (population, effective buying income, and retail sales) into one index which expresses a market's capacity to buy. The index is calculated as a percentage of the total U.S./Canada market potential.

Demographics - the vital statistics of a population, including the size of the group and the age, sex, birth and death rates, location, income, occupation, race education, etc. of its members.

Distribution channel (or channel of distribution) - the route along which goods and services travel from producer/manufacturer through marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers to the final user.

Effective Buying Income (or EBI) - a measurement developed by Sales & Marketing Management (magazine), which is the equivalent of disposable personal income, i.e., it represents wages and salaries and other income (rents, etc.) less federal, state, and local taxes and other deductions such as contributions toward insurance coverage, pension systems, etc. EBI is a bulk measurement of market potential and is viewed as most effective when employed in making generalizations about a market's capacity to buy.

Franchising - a vertical marketing system in which a manufacturer or service organization confers upon an individual or firm the privilege of marketing a product or service.

Market share - that part of a total market controlled by one firm.

Marketing mix - those marketing variables (such as product planning, pricing, promotion, and distribution channel selection) which when blended together form a marketing strategy designed to satisfy the firm's customers.

Mass marketing - a marketing strategy in which a product or service having wide appeal among the consuming public is promoted under a single marketing program and sold through such outlets as chain stores, discount stores, and supermarkets. Mass marketers do not target "everyone" as their customers but do address large numbers of consumers over broad geographic areas.

Metropolitan Statistical Area (or MSA) - similar to the old standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA), the MSA is a freestanding metropolitan area which: 1) contains a city of at least 50,000 inhabitants, or 2) encompasses an urbanized area of at least 50,000 and a total metropolitan population of at least 100,000. An MSA may include, in addition to the county containing the central city, other counties which have close economic and social ties to the central city.

Retailing - that business activity concerned with the selling of goods and/or services to the ultimate consumer for personal or household use.

Target market (or Target audience) - that particular subdivision, or segment, of a total potential market selected by a company as the target of its marketing efforts. Choice of a target market is usually based on some common characteristic possessed by the market segment, e.g., sex, education level, income, etc. Also known as market target or served market.

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• I am trying to decide where to locate my business. Where can I find demographics and other information useful for making this decision?

• Where can I find basic marketing and advertising statistics for the U.S. and Canada?

• Where can I find marketing statistics for other countries?

• Where can I find market share information?

• I am trying to plan a marketing/advertising budget. What resources can help me?

• I don't want to/am unable to come in to the library. Where can I go on the Internet to find marketing and advertising information?

• I am looking for names and addresses of companies in the marketing industry. Where should I look?

• I need to look up some marketing terms. Where can I find a marketing dictionary?

• What are the major academic and trade journals for marketing, advertising and related fields?

• How can I find articles in marketing periodicals?

• What are the professional associations/organizations related to the marketing industry, and how can I contact them?

I am trying to decide where to locate my business. Where can I find demographics and other information useful for making this decision?

Editor & Publisher Market Guide. Editor & Publisher Co. (annual).

A directory of newspaper markets and demographics. Divided into six sections crammed with information. Section II, the major section of the book, is a survey of U.S. cities and communities supporting daily newspapers. Gives very detailed information in 16 categories for each location. Categories includes such items as transportation (railroads, airlines, etc.), population, banks, principal industries, climate, retailing (principal and nearby shopping centers), retail outlets (department stores, discount stores, fast food chains, etc.), colleges and universities, and newspapers. Another section gives rankings of all MSAs, the top 250 counties, and the top 250 counties for 16 major relocation categories. Others give population, ages, ethnicity, housing, income, education, and Editor & Publisher indices (cost of living, crime, and better living) for the nation, each state, metro areas, counties and cities. Retail sales for those same geographical groups are given in nine categories, including such areas as building materials, general merchandise, food, and apparel. There is a section for Canadian cities which includes the same information as that for U.S. cities as listed above.

 

Lifestyle Market Analyst. SRDS (annual).

Subtitled "A reference guide for consumer market analysis." Combines demographic, geographic, and lifestyle data in 4 tables: 1. Market Profiles, which covers 210 DMAs (Designated Market Areas). 2. Lifestyle Profiles, which includes 75 lifestyle interests, such as "Attend Cultural/Arts Events," "Camping/Hiking," "Frequent Flyer," or "Own a Digital Camera." 3. Consumer Segment Profiles, which divides consumers into groups such as "Dual Income Households. Child Age Under 13," "Single Female 45-64 Years Old," or "65 Years and Over, Income under $30,000." 4. Consumer Magazine and Direct Marketing Lists, which features consumer magazines targeted by lifestyle groups such as "Automotive Work," "Gourmet Cooking," or "Photography."

County and City Data Book. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau (annual).

The County and City Databook contains demographic information on counties, metropolitan areas, cities with populations over 25,000, and places with population of less than 25,000 in the U.S.A.

 

Economic Census. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau (every 5 years).

The Economic Census is the major source of statistics for industries from the national to the local level. Available online at http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/. Taken every five years, with the most recent occurring in 2002. Data can also be found using American FactFinder which includes the most Economic Census statistics as well as annual economic surveys such as the Annual Survey of Manufactures.

Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics. ESRI (annual).

Statistics on population, income, age, race, education, employment for every zip code in the United States. Also includes purchasing potential for several categories of products or services such as apparel, footwear, groceries, furniture, and investments. Good source to use when trying to determine what the market and competition might be in a certain area.

Demographics USA. Market Statistics (annual).

Demographic, economic, commercial, and industrial data for the geographic subdivisions of state and region, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and Designated Market Areas. Statistics include population, race/ethnicity, age/sex groups, household-related data, Effective Buying Income, retail sales and number of establishments. Retail information is broken down by store group in such areas as food stores, general merchandise, eating & drinking, gasoline service stations, and drugs. Also broken down into merchandise categories, such as groceries, clothing (both men & boys' and women & girls'), footwear, and computer software & hardware. Includes projections for major categories (population, households, and retail sales).

Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide. Rand McNally & Co. (annual).

Economic and geographic information for the United States. Sections include U.S. and Metropolitan area maps, Transportation and Communications Data, Economic Data, Population Data, State Maps, and Index of Places and Statistics by State. This last section includes basic business data for each county, with data on population, wholesale trade, and manufacturing.

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Where can I find basic marketing and advertising statistics for the U.S. and Canada?

Many of the sources listed under the question above will also be useful for answering this type of question. In addition to those, other sources to try are:

Sales & Marketing Management. Sales and Marketing Management (monthly).

Covers the gamut of the marketing process. Three useful statistical issues, published once yearly as extra issues, are: 1."Survey of Buying Power," which provides current statistics on population, income, retail sales and buying power, and projections for those statistics. 2. "Survey of Media Markets"," which contains information for each Arbitron ADI market and rankings of metro areas for 10 retail merchandise lines. 3. "Sales Manager's Budget Planner," which give profiles of major U.S. metro markets, plus a few major Canada markets, including such information as vital statistics, and cost information of interest to travelers.

Advertising Age. Crain Communications (weekly).

The leading publication of the advertising industry. Excellent coverage of current events and trends. Includes a number of useful special features, such as "Top 100 National Advertisers," "Top 100 Megabrands," "Hot Media Markets: Local Market Rankings," and statistics on ad spending by media.

Ad $ Summary. Competitive Media Reporting (quarterly).

Subtitled: LNA (Leading National Advertisers) Multi-Media Service. Data on advertising expenditures in nine media, arranged by company and brand.

Statistical Fact Book. Direct Marketing Association (annual).

Statistics, charts, and graphs related to the direct marketing segment. Includes such data as consumer attitudes, buying habits, and trends and projections.

Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook. R.R. Bowker (annual).

Directory and market data for U.S. and Canadian radio, television stations, and other broadcast and cable media. Includes market statistics such as an Arbitron ADI market atlas and TV markets ranked by size.

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Where can I find marketing statistics for other countries?

European Marketing Data and Statistics. Euromonitor (annual).

Detailed consumer data for every country in Europe, for such areas as consumer spending patterns, market sizes, advertising patterns, health and living standards, literacy, travel and tourism. Very specific; for example, one can find such information as the number of washing machines sold in Belgium.

International Marketing Data and Statistics. Euromonitor (annual).

Similar format and content to European Marketing Data and Statistics covering over 150 non-European countries.

Global Market Information Database (GMID). Euromonitor.

GMID contains information on key business intelligence on countries, companies, markets and consumers. It is an integrated online information system covering over 350 markets and 207 countries. You can find statistical information on consumer lifestyles, retailing, countries, consumer market sizes and forecasts, market analysis reports, companies profiles, information sources stored on Euromonitor's internal databases.

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Where can I find market share information?

Business Rankings Annual. Gale Cengage Learning (annual).

"Lists of companies, products, services, and activities compiled from a variety of published sources." Rankings are in alphabetical order by subject. There is a master index in the back. Each edition includes a cumulative index, published separately.

Market Share Reporter. Gale Cengage Learning (annual).

Compiles market share data on companies, brands, products, commodities, and services. Over 2000 entries. Thoroughly indexed by five indices: Source; Place Names; Products, Services, Names and Issues; Company; and Brand. Uses over 350 primary print sources, mainly periodical literature such as trade journals and business newspapers, which in turn use over 600 other sources, such as other publications, brokerage houses, research organizations, associations, and government agencies. Cites many internet resources as well. Appendices include SIC coverage, and a NAICS/SIC conversion guide. Covers only North America, but there is a companion publication, World Market Share Reporter, to cover other areas (see below).

TableBase. Gale Cengage Learning.

Provides tabular information on companies, industries, products, countries, and market shares. Includes data on advertising expenditures.

ABI/Inform. Proquest (updated daily).

One of the major (if not THE major) indexes to business literature. Indexes over 1000 periodicals, many of which are in full-text. Excellent abstracts. Marketing journals are very well represented, and many trade journals are covered also.

Business Source Premier. EBSCO (updated daily).

Another major index to business literature. Full-text for over 900 periodicals in all business disciplines. Marketing journals and trade journals are very well represented, and most are in full-text.

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I am trying to plan a marketing/advertising budget. What resources can help me?

Ad $ Summary. TNS Media Intelligence (quarterly).

Data on advertising expenditures in nine media, arranged by company and brand.

Standard Rate & Data Service (SRDS). SRDS (frequency varies).

Advertising rates for publications and broadcast stations in many different categories. Separate volumes cover such types of media as business magazines, consumer magazines, newspapers, direct mail, spot radio, and spot television. Marketing statistics are included in some volumes.

TableBase. Gale Cengage Learning.

This database provides tabular information on companies, industries, products, countries, and market shares. Includes data on advertising expenditures.

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I don't want to/am unable to come in to the library. Where can I go on the Internet to find marketing and advertising information?

Advertising Age. http://www.adage.com Crain Communications.

The website of the well-established industry publication. Provides a number of useful links for researchers. While some of the content is the same as the print version, there is a lot of content unique to the web version. Likewise, some of the content in the print version does not appear online. Many useful and interesting special reports are included here, as well as breaking news.

Advertising World. http://advertising.utexas.edu/world Advertising Dept., Univ. of Texas.

A comprehensive collection of links to advertising and marketing information. Links are arranged into over 81 categories and include many hard-to-find topical areas.

KnowThis. http://www.knowthis.com Know This.

Provides the basic principles of marketing and advertising in clear, concise tutorials. It also provides numerous Web resources for advertising, selling, promotion, research, and more in concise information areas for easy browsing.

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I am looking for names and addresses of companies in the marketing industry. Where should I look?

Marketing News International Directory of the American Marketing Association and Marketing Services Guide. American Marketing Association (annual).

Annual special issue of Marketing News. Names of officers and branch locations for firms offering such services as advertising, market research, and consulting. Includes roster of AMA members.

GreenBook, http://www.greenbook.org. American Marketing Association.

Provides addresses, phone and fax numbers, branch offices, officers, and scope of activity. Searchable by company name or location, or use the advanced search to combine multiple criteria. The online version of the GreenBook directories.

Advertising Redbooks. LexisNexis (frequency varies).

This database includes listings of companies that buy advertising space, along with their approximate advertising budget and media expenditures, company officers, advertising agencies used, and brands owned. Also available in print in multiple volumes: advertisers, agencies, and geographic classifications.

Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook. R.R. Bowker (annual).

Directory and market data for U.S. and Canadian radio, television stations, and other broadcast and cable media. Includes market statistics such as an Arbitron ADI market atlas and TV markets ranked by size.

Franchise Opportunities Handbook. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Industrial Economics (irregular).

Directory of companies which grant franchises. Information for each company typically includes contact person, type of business, number of outlets, investment required, etc.

Television & Cable Factbook. Television Digest, Inc. (annual).

A directory of television stations, cable systems, and related service organizations.

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I need to look up some marketing terms. Where can I find a marketing dictionary?

Dictionary of Marketing. Rona Ostrow and Sweetman R. Smith. Fairchild Publications, 1988.

Covers words and phrases from all aspects of marketing, with some explanatory charts and graphs. This is the second of a trilogy of marketing dictionaries (Dictionary of Retailing and Dictionary of Advertising are the others) by these two authors. Written in simple, non-technical language.

Dictionary of Marketing & Advertising. Jerry Rosenberg. John Wiley and Sons, 1995.

Over 5500 entries, with definitions written for both laymen and professionals (often definitions in both "languages" are given for a term). The New York Times called Rosenberg "the leading business lexicographer in the nation."

Dictionary of Marketing Terms. Peter D. Bennett, ed. American Marketing Association, 2d ed., 1995.

Over 2500 terms, written by over 30 experts in the field (primarily marketing faculty at academic institutions). Terms for both practitioners and academics are included.

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What are the major academic and trade journals for marketing, advertising and related fields?

Marketing:

Journal of Marketing. American Marketing Association (quarterly).

The leading academic journal for marketing. Articles will be of interest to both scholars and marketing executives. Covers a diverse range of topics related to marketing management.

Journal of Marketing Research. American Marketing Association (quarterly).

More specialized than the journal of marketing. Focuses on quantitative methods and articles related to actual research.

Marketing News. American Marketing Association (biweekly).

Newspaper which covers the marketing industry, particularly the activities of the AMA. Some contributions by practitioners or academics. Occasional special issues focus on such topics as marketing education, creativity and innovation, and retailing.

Advertising:

Advertising Age. Crain Communications (weekly).

Advertising rates for publications and broadcast stations in many different categories. Separate volumes cover such types of media as business magazines, consumer magazines, newspapers, direct mail, spot radio, and spot television. Marketing statistics are included in some volumes.

Adweek. A/S/M Communications (weekly (51 per year)).

Six regional editions are published: New England, the East, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West. Published locally, each issue contains national and local news, articles and other information on advertising, communication and marketing. Intended for advertising professionals in each region.

BrandWeek. Adweek L.P. (weekly).

Weekly trade journal with news, analysis and industry data geared to corporate branding professionals. Also available online at http://www.brandweek.com.

 

Journal of Advertising. American Academy of Advertising (quarterly).

The major scholarly journal for advertising. Primarily for academics, but it does include both theory and practice.

MediaWeek. A/S/M Communications (weekly (48 per year)).

Weekly trade journal for media personnel. Also available online at http://www.mediaweek.com.

Other segments of the marketing process:

Trade journals and trade newspapers are very important in the marketing arena. Virtually every segment has one or more that will be read frequently by those in the industry. Advertising Age and others have been mentioned above. Some examples of more specific trade journals/newspapers are:

• Chain Store Age Executive with Shopping Center Age. Lebhar-Friedman (monthly).
• Discount Merchandiser. Super Market Publishing Co. (monthly).
• Discount Store News. Lebhar-Friedman (biweekly, except monthly in Dec.).
• Drug Store News. Lebhar-Friedman (biweekly, except monthly in Dec.).
• Hotel & Motel Management. Edgell Communications (semi-monthly, except monthly in Jan., Aug., and Dec.).
• Nation's Restaurant News. Lebhar-Friedman (weekly except last Monday in Dec.).
• Progressive Grocer. Trade Division, Butterick Co. (monthly).

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How can I find articles in marketing periodicals?

ABI/Inform. Proquest (updated daily).

One of the major (if not THE major) indexes to business literature. Indexes over 4,000 periodicals, many of which are in full-text. Excellent abstracts. Marketing journals are very well represented, and many trade journals are covered also.

Business Source Premier. EBSCO (updated daily).

Another major index to business literature. Full-text for over 2,300 periodicals in all business disciplines. Marketing journals and trade journals are very well represented, and most are in full-text.

Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO (updated bimonthy).

Provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for more than 420 journals in the fields of communication, advertising, marketing, and mass media. Provides the full-text of articles for over 300 journals. Advertising and marketing journals are well represented.

 

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What are the professional associations/organizations related to the marketing industry, and how can I contact them?

As with trade journals, there are many relevant and important associations. Each segment has one or more. The best way to find out about these is to use the Encyclopedia of Associations (or online version, Associations Unlimited), but here are some examples:

American Marketing Association. 250 S. Wacker Dr., Ste. 200, Chicago, IL 60606. (312) 648-0536. http://www.marketingpower.com/

Professional society with membership of over 38,000, including both practitioners and academics. The leading marketing association, it publishes a number of the leading marketing periodicals. Conducts seminars, conferences, workshops and institutes.

American Advertising Federation. 1101 Vermont Ave. NW, Ste. 500, Washington, D.C. 20005. (202) 898-0089. http://www.aaf.org

Over 50,000 members. Promotes the business of advertising by working with government, public, and professional sectors.

American Association of Advertising Agencies. 405 Lexington Ave., 18th fl., New York, NY 10174-1801. (212) 682-2500. http://www.aaaa.org

Primary focus is to assist advertising agencies and to encourage the growth of the industry.

Direct Marketing Association. 1120 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-6700. (212) 768-7277. http://www.the-dma.org

Membership consists of virtually any business, organization or person who is involved in direct marketing. Compiles statistics and offers institutes, workshops and seminars.

Food Marketing Institute. 800 Connecticut Ave. NW, Ste. 500, Washington, D.C., 20006-2701. (202) 452-8444. http://www.fmi.org/

Members are grocery retailers and wholesalers. Conducts conferences and seminars, gathers statistics. Produces a number of useful publications.

International Franchise Association. 1501 K Street, N.W., Ste. 350, Washington, D.C., 20005. http://www.franchise.org

Multinational organization with over 30,000 members involved in franchising of goods and services in all industries.

National Retail Federation. 325 7th St. NW, Ste. 1000, Washington, D.C., 20004-2802. (202) 783-7971. http://www.nrf.com

Represents a variety of national and state retail associations, plus corporate members from all segments of the retail industry. Conducts conferences on all aspects of retailing, including such diverse topics as merchandise management, customer integration for multiple channels, advertising and display, and loss prevention.

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