How Can Marketing Academics Serve Marketing Practice? The New Marketing DNA as a Model for Marketing Education

Abstract

This article seeks to address how marketing academics can best serve marketing practice through marketing education. It is contended that, where technology is driving marketing in practice, it is afforded significantly less attention in both theory and education. Thus, the marketing graduates being produced from universities are often lacking in the skills that 21st-century marketers require. Where the focus of the article is on marketing education, a broad analysis of the content of marketing textbooks and degree programs is presented and an “old Marketing DNA” presented. The study also adopted an inductive approach to data collection where the aim was to investigate the exact nature, constituency, and role of marketing in organizations. Qualitative in-depth interviews were undertaken with senior marketing managers and executives in U.K. organizations. Findings are organized into the areas of customer-led marketing, value-driven strategic marketing, channels, data-driven marketing, and online and off-line integrated marketing communications. The article concludes that there is a disconnect between marketing education and marketing practice and goes some way to recommending what the response of marketing academia should be through the “new Marketing DNA.” This article aims to inspire a holistic response from marketing educators to bring their practice more in line with what is actually being practiced by marketing practitioners in the 21st century.