The development of 3Ps (Price, Product, Place, Promotion) is often attributed to marketing guru E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s as part of his marketing mix framework. However, the origins of the 4Ps date back even further to the 1950s and were influenced by a number of marketing academics and practitioners.
The Origins of the Marketing Mix Concept
The marketing mix is a foundational concept in marketing that refers to the set of controllable tactical marketing tools – product, price, place, and promotion – that a company uses to pursue its marketing objectives in a target market. In the 1950s and 1960s, marketing academics began to synthesize various marketing principles, tools, and frameworks into the unified concept of the marketing mix.
Some key developments that led to the marketing mix include:
- James Culliton described the marketing manager as a “mixer of ingredients” in 1948.
- Neil Borden listed 12 elements of the marketing mix in his 1964 article The Concept of the Marketing Mix.
- Marketing scholar Robert Keith developed the idea of marketing mix variables in the early 1960s.
However, E. Jerome McCarthy is most commonly associated with popularizing the 4Ps version of the marketing mix due to his influential 1960 text Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.
E. Jerome McCarthy’s 4Ps
In 1960, E. Jerome McCarthy published his seminal text Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach while a professor at the Michigan State University School of Business. The book outlined his framework of the 4Ps that has become ubiquitous in marketing – product, price, place, and promotion.
According to McCarthy, for a marketing manager to develop an effective marketing program, they must make decisions across the 4Ps. His rationale for the 4Ps framework was that these categories allowed for a memorable and practical organization of marketing tools that firms could control. The 4Ps remain core building blocks of the marketing mix.
Key Points About McCarthy’s 4Ps
- Presented the 4Ps – product, price, place, promotion – as essential marketing decision areas.
- Developed as part of his managerial approach to marketing training and practice.
- Intended to provide a toolkit of controllable marketing variables.
- Built on earlier marketing mix concepts like Borden’s 12 elements.
- Remains one of most fundamental marketing frameworks.
Extensions and Modifications to the 4Ps
Since its introduction, McCarthy’s original conceptualization of the 4Ps has been expanded and modified. Some key developments include:
The 7Ps of Marketing
The 7Ps framework added participants (or people), process and physical evidence to account for the expanded role of service marketing. It was developed in the early 1980s.
The 4Cs Model
The 4Cs reorients the mix from the seller’s perspective to focus on the customer – customer needs (product), cost (price), convenience (place), and communication (promotion). First suggested in the early 1990s.
Digital Marketing Mix
Modified mix for digital marketing, which may include elements like platform, community, personalization. Emphasizes digital tools.
New Ps like Packaging, Politics, Partners
Some academics and practitioners have continued proposing new Ps like packaging, politics, and partners as markets and marketing practices change. This expands the toolset.
Despite new iterations, the original 4Ps remains a core foundation taught in all marketing programs. It introduced the critical concept of the marketing mix that shapes marketing to this day.
The Importance of McCarthy’s 4Ps
Some key reasons why McCarthy’s 4Ps framework remains essential include:
- Memorable and practical – the 4P alliteration helps stickiness and usage.
- Foundational model – the 4Ps introduced and popularized the marketing mix.
- Core marketing toolkit – product, price, place, promotion remain essential.
- Balances strategy and tactics – aligns decisions with objectives.
- Flexible and adaptable – works across goods and services.
The 4Ps framework inform all types of marketing campaigns and strategic business decisions. It remains a staple lesson in marketing education globally. E. Jerome McCarthy’s elegant synthesis and promotion of the model played a monumental role in marketing management practices.
Conclusion
While the marketing mix concept has origins in the 1950s, E. Jerome McCarthy’s 1960 publication of Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach solidified the 4Ps model – price, product, place, and promotion – that remains foundational in marketing. McCarthy formally introduced and popularized the 4Ps, making the marketing mix actionable and memorable for an entire generation of marketers. His framework sparked a revolution in marketing management thinking that shapes practices to this day. While the model has undergone extensions and iterations for different contexts, McCarthy’s 4Ps remain the core, essential foundation of marketing mixes taught to students and applied by practitioners globally.