Routledge The Marketing Matrix: How the Corporation Gets Its Power – And How We Can Reclaim It

In the hands of the corporate sector, marketing has turned us into spoilt, consumption-obsessed children who are simultaneously wrecking our bodies, psyches and planet. Given the fiduciary duties of the corporation, notions like consumer sovereignty, customer service and relationship building are just corrosive myths that seduce us into quiescence, whilst furnishing big business with unprecedented power. Corporate Social Responsibility, the ultimate oxymoron, and its country cousin, Cause Related Marketing, are just means of currying favour amongst our political leaders and further extending corporate power. So it is time to fight back. As individuals we have enormous internal strength; collectively we have, and can again, change the world (indeed marketing itself is a function of humankind’s capacity to cooperate to overcome difficulties and way predates its co-option by corporations). From the purpose and resilience Steinbeck’s sharecroppers (‘we’re the people – we go on’), through Eisenhower’s ‘alert and knowledgeable citizenry’ to Arundhati Roy’s timely reminder about the wisdom of indigenous people ‘are not relics of the past, but the guides to our future’, there are lots of reasons for optimism. If these talents and strengths can be combined with serious moves to contain the corporate sector, it is possible to rethink our economic and social priorities. The book ends with a call to do just this. This compelling and accessible book will be of interest across the social sciences and humanities – and indeed to anyone who has concerns about the current state of consumer society. It will also be particularly useful reading for those marketing students who'd prefer a critical perspective to the standard ritualization of their discipline. Review ‘Gerard Hastings’ masterful and ground breaking treatise on marketing is nothing short of a map out of the desert leading us all to Jericho. His challenge to the consumptive nature of the developed world and the unveiling of the "big lie", that the global corporate culture is working on the behalf of society, is nothing short of liberating…expect to be challenged…expect to be warned…then, expect to become hopeful…his prescription for healing is even more powerful than his diagnosis.’ James H. Lindenberger, Director, Social Marketing Group, University of South Florida, USA ‘The cowboy and robber economy is back. There are even business schools that teach students that the sole mission of business is to maximize shareholder value. Finance is everything. Branding, however hollow, is everything. In contrast the new marketing theory of the 3rd millennium puts stress on customer service and value-in-use which is in line with Gerard Hasting's thinking. He has written a daring book. He calls a spade a spade, totally contrary to what advertising and other marketing does. So the conventional marketer will hate it. If they keep reading they will find that Hastings makes sense. We need business, but a nation needs fair business, not just windfall for the few. Marketing is also a tool for creating welfare in society -- for everybody. Only then will business become efficient in the long run.’ Evert Gummesson, Emeritus Professor, Stockholm University School of Business, Sweden 'On the face of it, corporate marketing adds excitement and glamour to the most boring of everyday products and stimulates desire in the most jaded consumers. As consumers we are seduced by the power of this corporate apparatus with its seductive bargains, witty ads, myriad of choice with brand identity as the opiate of the people. As Hastings shows however, the powerful and ubiquitous behaviour change tools of modern marketing - i.e. 'the marketing matrix' - actually create a false and superficial society based on more and more private consumption and less and less wellbeing and real satisfaction. In his ground-breaking analysis and searing critique of corporate marketing, Hastings brilliantly expl