History of the Phrase “Marketing Mix”

The term “marketing mix” became popular after Neil H. Borden published his article The Concepts of the Marketing Mix in 1964. In this article Borden explains how he first began using this term in the late 1940’s after James Culliton described the marketikng manager as a “mix of ingredients”. These ingredients in Borden’s teachings included product, planning, price, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding analysis. These ingredients were later grouped by E. Jerome McCarthy into four categories which we now refer to as the four p’s of marketing (NetMBA 2007). The four p’s of marketing make up the marketing mix which is probably the most well known of all the marketing terms. “Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. The four p’s, of the marketing mix elements are product, place, promotion and price” (Marketing teacher 2009). These four elements create the marketing mix which impacts the development of any organization’s marketing strategies and tactics. The concept is simple. Think about a cake and the components of a cake. There are certain ingredients that are required but one can alter how much of each ingredient is added. The same goes with marketing.