Marketing communication: principles and practice

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Table 1.4
The evolution of the context for marketing developments
Era
Business orientation
New technologies for
communicating
Pre-1850
Craft manufacturing and local 
Newspapers, pamphlets (notices
merchanting
and announcements)
1850–1920 Mass production – consumer 
Telegraph, telephone,
demand for manufactured 
phonograph, roll film, linotype
goods outstripped production 
and monotype printing,
capacity
wireless, magazines, catalogues
1920–50
Selling – demand subsided, so Cinema, radio
products had to be advertised 
and personal selling was 
considered most important
1950–70
Marketing – efficient production Television, computers
and extensive promotion were 
not sufficient to ensure 
purchase of products. Meeting 
of needs now emphasized, 
therefore customer orientation 
was pre-eminent
1970–95
Post-industrial society 
Telex, facsimile machine, VCR
characterized by a service 
economy in which encounter 
or communicating is central to 
the relationship between 
consumer and producer – no 
longer mediated by machines
Post-1995
Consumers are increasingly 
Internet, WWW, mobile
active, differentiated searchers telephone, digital TV, e-mail,
who use interactive multimedia CD-ROM, low-cost PC, EDI
to gather information. Mass 
(electronic data interchange),
customization of products is 
home shopping
promoted and delivered via 
new media formed from newly 
merged media and marketing 
systems

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