Marketing and advertising can be said to represent the first formal, 'scientific' attempts at communication on a universal level. Early marketers, in the age of mass production, aimed to reach the widest possible audience for their products, and advertising was the first and most spectacular tool they employed. Although disparate elements of marketing practice have been around for a long time, it was only in the early twentieth century that marketing began to emerge as a coherent business discipline. The consequences of that emergence were to be profound, for business and consumers alike. Early texts on marketing focused on areas such as the organization of marketing and its place within the business, effective communication with consumers, and stimulation of consumer demand. All of these remain concerns for marketers today. This collection provides some of the most significant early writings which illustrate the ways in which marketers approached these issues. Marketing theory in the early twentieth century drew heavily on prevalent theories of sociology and psychology, and the collection incorporates relevant material from these fields. The eight volumes comprise six complete works and two new compilations of articles and shorter extracts. Included are an overview of the subject, an important textbook, and works in the specialist areas of sales management, market research, industrial marketing and advertising, the key areas of interest before the Second World War. Featuring some very scarce and inaccessible original writings, the set will be central to any study of the basic principles of marketing as once practised, as well as a 'back to basics' lesson for those working in modern marketing.
--books and articles illustrating the early history of modern marketing practice
--hard-to-find source material collected for the first time
--two volumes of newly gathered articles, all reset, including contributions by John Kenneth Galbraith, Charles Babbage, Lyndall Urwick, Edward Elbourne and C. B. Thompson
