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GLOBAL
EDITION

Marketing
An Introduction
FIFTEENTH EDITION

Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler


with
Marc Oliver Opresnik
Marketing
An Introduction
Fifteenth Edition
Global Edition

GARY ARMSTRONG
University of North Carolina

PHILIP KOTLER
Northwestern University
with

MARC OLIVER OPRESNIK


St. Gallen Management Institute

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Brief Contents
PART 1 DEFINING MARKETING AND THE MARKETING PROCESS 26

1 Marketing: Creating Customer Value and Engagement 26


2 Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Engagement,
Value, and Relationships 60

PART 2 UNDERSTANDING THE MARKETPLACE AND CONSUMER VALUE 88

3 Analyzing the Marketing Environment 88


4 Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 122
5 Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behavior 158

PART 3 DESIGNING A CUSTOMER VALUE–DRIVEN STRATEGY AND MIX 196

6 Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value


for Target Customers 196
7 Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value 228
8 Developing New Products and Managing the Product Life Cycle 264
9 Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 290
10 Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value 326
11 Retailing and Wholesaling 360
12 Engaging Consumers and Communicating Customer Value: Advertising
and Public Relations 398
13 Personal Selling and Sales Promotion 434
14 Digital Marketing 464

PART 4 EXTENDING MARKETING 502

15 The Global Marketplace 502


16 Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics 532
APPENDIX 1 COMPANY CASES 567
APPENDIX 2 MARKETING PLAN 599
APPENDIX 3 MARKETING BY THE NUMBERS 609
APPENDIX 4 CAREERS IN MARKETING 627

Glossary 641
References 649
Index 684
5

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Contents
Preface 17
About the Authors 24

PART 1 DEFINING MARKETING AND THE MARKETING PROCESS 26

1 Marketing: Creating Customer Value and Engagement 26


Objectives Outline 26 • Previewing the Concepts 26 • First Stop: Amazon: Obsessed with Creating
Customer Value, Engagement, and Relationships 27
What Is Marketing? 28
Marketing Defined 29 • The Marketing Process 29
Understanding the Marketplace and Customer Needs 30
Customer Needs, Wants, and Demands 30 • Market Offerings—Products, Services, and
Experiences 31
Marketing at Work 1.1: The Walt Disney World Resort: Making Magical Moments 32
Customer Value and Satisfaction 33 • Exchanges and Relationships 33 • Markets 33
Designing a Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy and Plan 34
Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy 34 • Preparing an Integrated Marketing Plan and
Program 38
Managing Customer Relationships and Capturing Customer Value 38
Engaging Customers and Managing Customer Relationships 38 • Capturing Value from
Customers 44
The Changing Marketing Landscape 47
The Digital Age: Online, Mobile, and Social Media Marketing 47
Marketing at Work 1.2: Zoom: A Winning Product and Agile Marketing in the Digital Age 50
The Growth of Not-for-Profit Marketing 52 • Rapid Globalization 52 • Sustainable Marketing:
The Call for More Environmental and Social Responsibility 53 • So, What Is Marketing? Pulling It
All Together 54 • Developing Skills for Your Career 55
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 56
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 56 • Key Terms 57 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 58 • Critical Thinking Exercises 58 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 58 • Marketing Ethics 59 • Marketing by the
Numbers 59 • Company Cases 59

2 Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer


Engagement, Value, and Relationships 60
Objectives Outline 60 • Previewing the Concepts 60 • First Stop: Rolex: Building Brand Equity
through a Customer-Driven Marketing Mix 61

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8 Contents

Company-Wide Strategic Planning: Defining Marketing’s Role 62


Defining a Market-Oriented Mission 63 • Setting Company Objectives and Goals 64
Designing the Business Portfolio 64
Marketing at Work 2.1: IKEA’s Mission: Creating a Better Everyday Life for the Many People 65
Analyzing the Current Business Portfolio 67 • Developing Strategies for Growth and Downsizing 69
Planning Marketing: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships 70
Partnering with Other Company Departments 71 • Partnering with Others in the Marketing System 72
Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Mix 72
Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy 73
Marketing at Work 2.2: How Milk Is Becoming Dairy-Free 75
Developing an Integrated Marketing Mix 76
Managing the Marketing Effort and Marketing Return on Investment 78
Managing the Marketing Effort 78 • Measuring and Managing Marketing Return on Investment 82
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 84
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 84 • Key Terms 85 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 85 • Critical Thinking Exercises 85 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 86 • Marketing Ethics 86 • Marketing by the
Numbers 86 • Company Cases 87

PART 2 UNDERSTANDING THE MARKETPLACE AND


CONSUMER VALUE 88

3 Analyzing the Marketing Environment 88


Objectives Outline 88 • Previewing the Concepts 88 • First Stop: Microsoft: Adapting to the
Fast-Changing Marketing Environment 89
The Microenvironment and Macroenvironment 90
The Microenvironment 91 • The Macroenvironment 94
Marketing at Work 3.1: Marketing in the Age of Disruption: Managing the Present and Planning for the Future 95

The Demographic and Economic Environments 96


The Demographic Environment 96 • The Economic Environment 104
The Natural and Technological Environments 106
The Natural Environment 106 • The Technological Environment 107
The Political–Social and Cultural Environments 109
The Political and Social Environment 109
Marketing at Work 3.2: Cause-Related Marketing: Linking Brands, Consumers, and Causes 113
The Cultural Environment 114
Responding to the Marketing Environment 117
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 118
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 118 • Key Terms 119 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 119 • Critical Thinking Exercises 119 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 120 • Marketing Ethics 120 • Marketing by the
Numbers 120 • Company Cases 121

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Contents 9

4 Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights


Objectives Outline 122 • Previewing the Concepts 122 • First Stop: Ferrero: Managing Marketing
122

Information and Customer Insights 123


Marketing Information and Customer Insights 124
Marketing Information and Today’s “Big Data” 124 • Developing Customer Insights 125
• The Marketing Information System 125
Assessing Information Needs and Developing Data 126
Assessing Marketing Information Needs 126 • Developing Marketing Information 127
Marketing at Work 4.1: Social Media Command Centers: Listening to and Engaging Customers in Social
Space 129

Marketing Research 130


Traditional Marketing Research in Transition 131 • Defining the Problem and Research
Objectives 131 • Developing the Research Plan 132 • Gathering Secondary Data 133
• Primary Data Collection 134 • Implementing the Research Plan 143 • Interpreting and
Reporting the Findings 143
Analyzing and Using Marketing Information 144
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 144 • Big Data, Marketing Analytics, and Artificial
Intelligence 145 • Distributing and Using Marketing Information 146
Marketing at Work 4.2: Artificial Intelligence in Marketing: “A Bigger Deal Than Fire or Electricity” 147

Other Marketing Information Considerations 149


Marketing Research in Small Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations 149 • International Marketing
Research 150 • Public Policy and Ethics in Marketing Research 151
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 154
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 154 • Key Terms 155 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 155 • Critical Thinking Exercises 156 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 156 • Marketing Ethics 156 • Marketing by the
Numbers 157 • Company Cases 157

5 Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behavior


Objectives Outline 158 • Previewing the Concepts 158 • First Stop: Lenovo: Understanding
158

Customers and Building Profitable Relationships 159


Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior 160
Model of Consumer Behavior 160 • Characteristics Affecting Consumer Behavior 161
Marketing at Work 5.1: Influencer Marketing: Leveraging Relationships between Influencers and Their
Followers 166

The Buyer Decision Process 174


Need Recognition 174 • Information Search 175 • Evaluation of Alternatives 175 • Purchase
Decision 176 • Postpurchase Behavior 176 • The Customer Journey 177
The Buyer Decision Process for New Products 178
Stages in the Adoption Process 178 • Individual Differences in Innovativeness 178 • Influence of
Product Characteristics on Rate of Adoption 179
Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior 180
Business Markets 180 • Business Buyer Behavior 182 • Major Types of Buying
Situations 183 • Participants in the Business Buying Process 184 • Major Influences
on Business Buyers 184

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10 Contents

The Business Buyer Decision Process 186


Problem Recognition 186 • General Need Description 187 • Product Specification 187
• Supplier Search 187 • Proposal Solicitation 187 • Supplier Selection 188 • Order-Routine
Specification 188 • Performance Review 188
Engaging Business Buyers with Digital and Social Marketing 189
E-procurement and Online Purchasing 189 • Business-to-Business Digital and Social Media
Marketing 190
Marketing at Work 5.2: LinkedIn: The Place to Be for B-to-B 191

REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 192


Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 192 • Key Terms 193 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 194 • Critical Thinking Exercises 194 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 194 • Marketing Ethics 195 • Marketing by the
Numbers 195 • Company Cases 195

PART 3 DESIGNING A CUSTOMER VALUE–DRIVEN STRATEGY AND MIX 196

6 Customer Value–Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value


for Target Customers 196
Objectives Outline 196 • Previewing the Concepts 196 • First Stop: Henkel’s Persil in the
Gulf States 197
Marketing Strategy 198
Market Segmentation 199
Segmenting Consumer Markets 199 • Segmenting Business Markets 205
Marketing at Work 6.1: VOX Cinemas: Movie Experiences for Everyone 206
• Segmenting International Markets 207 • Requirements for Effective Segmentation 208
Market Targeting 209
Evaluating Market Segments 209 • Selecting Target Market Segments 210
Marketing at Work 6.2: Fila Sneaks Back into Fashion 213

Differentiation and Positioning 217


Positioning Maps 218 • Choosing a Differentiation and Positioning Strategy 219
• Communicating and Delivering the Chosen Position 224
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 224
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 224 • Key Terms 225 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 225 • Critical Thinking Exercises 226 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 226 • Marketing Ethics 226 • Marketing by the
Numbers 227 • Company Cases 227

7 Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value


Objectives Outline 228 • Previewing the Concepts
228
228 • First Stop: FiLLi Café: A Saffron-Infused
Tea Experience 229
What Is a Product? 230
Products, Services, and Experiences 230 • Levels of Product and Services 231 • Product and Service
Classifications 232

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Contents 11

Product and Service Decisions 235


Individual Product and Service Decisions 235
Marketing at Work 7.1: Nike Pro Hijab: Combining Branding and an Innovative Design 237
Product Line Decisions 242 • Product Mix Decisions 243
Services Marketing 245
The Nature and Characteristics of a Service 245 • Marketing Strategies for Service Firms 246
• The Service Profit Chain 247
Branding Strategy: Building Strong Brands 250
Brand Equity and Brand Value 251 • Building Strong Brands 252
Marketing at Work 7.2: Store Brands: Price Is Important, but It’s More about the Customer Experience 255
Managing Brands 259
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 260
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 260 • Key Terms 261 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 262 • Critical Thinking Exercises 262 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 262 • Marketing Ethics 263 • Marketing by the
Numbers 263 • Company Cases 263

8 Developing New Products and Managing the Product Life Cycle


Objectives Outline 264 • Previewing the Concepts 264 • First Stop: Google (. . . er, Alphabet): The
264

New Product Moon Shot Factory 265


New Product Development Strategy 266
The New Product Development Process 267
Idea Generation 267 • Idea Screening 269 • Concept Development and Testing 269
• Marketing Strategy Development 271 • Business Analysis 272 • Product Development 272
• Test Marketing 272 • Commercialization 273 • Managing New Product Development 274
Marketing at Work 8.1: Apple: Innovative to Its Core 276
Product Life-Cycle Strategies 277
Introduction Stage 279
Marketing at Work 8.2: Managing L’Oréal’s Product Life Cycle: More Than Just Makeup 280
Growth Stage 281 • Maturity Stage 282 • Decline Stage 283
Additional Product and Service Considerations 285
Product Decisions and Social Responsibility 285 • International Product and Services Marketing 285
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 287
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 287 • Key Terms 288 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 288 • Critical Thinking Exercises 288 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 288 • Marketing Ethics 289 • Marketing by the
Numbers 289 • Company Cases 289

9 Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value 290


Objectives Outline 290 • Previewing the Concepts 290 • First Stop: Peloton: Premium Priced. But It’s
Not about the Price 291
Major Pricing Strategies 293
Customer Value–Based Pricing 293
Marketing at Work 9.1: ALDI: Doing Things “Differentli” to Bring Customers Amazingly Low Prices 296
Cost-Based Pricing 297 • Competition-Based Pricing 298

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12 Contents

Other Internal and External Considerations Affecting Price Decisions 299


Overall Marketing Strategy, Objectives, and Mix 299 • Organizational Considerations 301
• The Market and Demand 301 • The Economy 303 • Other External Factors 304
New Product Pricing Strategies 304
Market-Skimming Pricing 304 • Market-Penetration Pricing 304
Product Mix Pricing Strategies 305
Product Line Pricing 305 • Optional-Product Pricing 306 • Captive-Product Pricing 306
• By-Product Pricing 306 • Product Bundle Pricing 307
Price Adjustment Strategies and Price Changes 307
Discount and Allowance Pricing 307 • Segmented Pricing 308 • Psychological Pricing 309
• Promotional Pricing 310 • Geographical Pricing 311 • Dynamic and Personalized Pricing 312
Marketing at Work 9.2: Dynamic and Personalized Pricing: Walking a Fine Line 313
International Pricing 314 • Price Changes 315
Public Policy and Pricing 318
Pricing within Channel Levels 319 • Pricing across Channel Levels 320
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 321
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 321 • Key Terms 323 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 323 • Critical Thinking Exercises 323 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 324 • Marketing Ethics 324 • Marketing by the
Numbers 324 • Company Cases 325

10 Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value


Objectives Outline 326 • Previewing the Concepts
326
326 • First Stop: Airbnb: Disrupting Traditional
Distribution Channels 327
Supply Chains and the Value Delivery Network 328
The Nature and Importance of Marketing Channels 329 • How Channel Members Add Value 330
Channel Behavior and Organization 332
Channel Behavior 332 • Vertical Marketing Systems 333 • Horizontal Marketing
Systems 336 • Multichannel Distribution Systems 336 • Changing Channel Organization 337
Marketing at Work 10.1: Zara: Through Disintermediation to the Top of World Fashion 339

Channel Design Decisions 341


Analyzing Consumer Needs 341 • Setting Channel Objectives 342 • Identifying Major
Alternatives 342 • Evaluating the Major Alternatives 344 • Designing International Distribution
Channels 344
Channel Management Decisions 345
Selecting Channel Members 345 • Managing and Motivating Channel Members 346 • Evaluating
Channel Members 346 • Public Policy and Distribution Decisions 346
Marketing at Work 10.2: Microsoft Azure: Partnering with Customers in the Cloud 347

Marketing Logistics and Supply Chain Management 349


Nature and Importance of Marketing Logistics 349 • Sustainable Supply Chains 350
• Goals of the Logistics System 351 • Major Logistics Functions 351 • Integrated Logistics
Management 354
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 356
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 356 • Key Terms 357 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 358 • Critical Thinking Exercises 358 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 358 • Marketing Ethics 359 • Marketing by the
Numbers 359 • Company Cases 359

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Contents 13

11 Retailing and Wholesaling


Objectives Outline 360 • Previewing the Concepts
360
360 • First Stop: UNIQLO: The Innovative Route
in Fashion Retailing 361
Retailing 362
Retailing: Connecting Brands with Consumers 362 • The Shifting Retailing Model 363 • Store
Retailing 364 • Non-Store Direct Retailing 370
Omni-Channel Marketing: Blending In-Store, Online, Mobile, and Social Media Channels 372
Retailer Marketing Decisions 374
Marketing at Work 11.1: Sharaf DG’s Omni-Channel Strategy 375
Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation, and Positioning Decisions 376 • Product Assortment and
Services Decision 378 • Price Decision 379 • Promotion Decision 380 • Place Decision 380
Retailing Trends and Developments 381
Increased Uncertainty and Disruption 381 • Tighter Consumer Spending 382 • New Retail Forms,
Shortening Retail Life Cycles, and Retail Convergence 383 • The Rise of Megaretailers 384
• Rapid Advances in Retail Technology 384
Marketing at Work 11.2: The Future of Retailing: Using Technology to Enhance the Customer Experience 385
Sustainable Retailing 387 • Global Expansion of Major Retailers 388
Wholesaling 389
Types of Wholesalers 390 • Trends in Wholesaling 393
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 394
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 394 • Key Terms 395 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 395 • Critical Thinking Exercises 396 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 396 • Marketing Ethics 396 • Marketing by the
Numbers 397 • Company Cases 397

12 Engaging Consumers and Communicating Customer Value:


Advertising and Public Relations 398
Objectives Outline 398 • Previewing the Concepts 398 • First Stop: Jollibee: Communicating Family
Values 399
The Promotion Mix 400
Integrated Marketing Communications 401
The New Marketing Communications Model 401
Marketing at Work 12.1: Just Don’t Call It Advertising: It’s Content Marketing 403
The Need for Integrated Marketing Communications 404 • Shaping the Overall Promotion Mix 406
Advertising and Major Advertising Decisions 409
Setting Advertising Objectives 410 • Setting the Advertising Budget 412
Marketing at Work 12.2: Promoting Social Responsibility: It’s the Right Thing to Do 413
Developing Advertising Strategy 415 • Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness and the Return
on Advertising Investment 425 • Other Advertising Considerations 425
Public Relations 427
The Role and Impact of PR 428 • Major Public Relations Tools 429

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14 Contents

REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 430


Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 430 • Key Terms 431 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 431 • Critical Thinking Exercises 431 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 432 • Marketing Ethics 432 • Marketing by the
Numbers 432 • Company Cases 433

13 Personal Selling and Sales Promotion


Objectives Outline 434 • Previewing the Concepts
434
434 • First Stop: Salesforce: You Need a Great
Sales Force to Sell Salesforce 435
Personal Selling 436
The Nature of Personal Selling 436 • The Role of the Sales Force 437
Managing the Sales Force 438
Designing the Sales Force Strategy and Structure 439 • Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople 442
• Training Salespeople 443 • Compensating Salespeople 444 • Supervising and Motivating
Salespeople 444 • Evaluating Salespeople and Sales Force Performance 445 • Social Selling:
Using Digital Sales Platforms and Tools 446
Marketing at Work 13.1: Digital Selling Technologies: Changing the Face of Professional Sales 447

The Personal Selling Process 449


Steps in the Selling Process 450 • Personal Selling and Managing Customer Relationships 452
Sales Promotion 453
The Rapid Growth of Sales Promotion 453 • Sales Promotion Objectives 454 • Major Sales
Promotion Tools 455
Marketing at Work 13.2: Red Bull: The Mother of All Event Marketers 458
Developing the Sales Promotion Program 460
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 460
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 460 • Key Terms 462 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 462 • Critical Thinking Exercises 462 • Minicases and
Applications • Digital Marketing 462 • Marketing Ethics 463 • Marketing by the Numbers 463
• Company Cases 463

14 Digital Marketing 464


Objectives Outline 464 • Previewing the Concepts 464 • First Stop: Samsung Electronics: Engaging
Customers Globally via Social Media Marketing 465
Understanding Digital Marketing 466
The New Digital Marketing Models 467 • Benefits of Digital Marketing to Buyers and Sellers 468
Preparing for a Digital Marketing Campaign 471
Knowing the Digital Consumer 471 • Understanding Consumer Omni-Channel Navigation
Behavior 473 • Using Experimentation to Understand What Works 474
Employing Digital Channels in an Omni-Channel Strategy 475
Online Marketing 475 • Social Media Marketing 480
Marketing at Work 14.1: Instagram: A Win-Win-Win for the Company, Advertisers, and Instagrammers 482
Mobile Marketing 487
Marketing at Work 14.2: Mobile Marketing: Engaging Consumers in Moments That Matter 489
Creating an Integrated Omni-Channel Strategy 490
Public Policy Issues in Digital Marketing 493

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Contents 15

REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 498


Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 498 • Key Terms 499 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 499 • Critical Thinking Exercises 500 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 500 • Marketing Ethics 500 • Marketing by the
Numbers 501 • Company Cases 501

PART 4 EXTENDING MARKETING 502

15 The Global Marketplace 502


Objectives Outline 502 • Previewing the Concepts 502 • First Stop: L’ORÉAL: “Beauty for All.
Beauty for Each Individual.” 503
Global Marketing Today 504
Understanding the Global Marketing Context 506
Political Context 506 • Economic Context 506 • Sociocultural Context 507
Marketing at Work 15.1: Tata Steel: Entering High-Potential International Markets 508
Technological Context 512 • The Legal and Institutional Context 513 • The Environmental
and Ecological Context 515
Deciding Whether to Go Global and Which Markets to Enter 516
Deciding Whether to Go Global 516 • Deciding Which Markets to Enter 517
Deciding How to Enter Global Markets 518
Exporting 519 • Joint Venturing 519 • Direct Investment 521
Deciding on the Global Marketing Program 521
Product 522 • Promotion 524
Marketing at Work 15.2: Localizing Chinese Brand Names: Important but Tricky 525
Price 526 • Distribution Channels 526
Deciding on the Global Marketing Organization 527
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 528
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 528 • Key Terms 529 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 529 • Critical Thinking Exercises 530 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 530 • Marketing Ethics 530 • Marketing by the
Numbers 531 • Company Cases 531

16 Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics


Objectives Outline 532 • Previewing the Concepts 532 • First Stop: Patagonia’s “Conscious
532

Consumption”: Telling Consumers to Buy Less 533


Sustainable Marketing 534
Social Criticisms of Marketing 536
Marketing’s Impact on Individual Consumers 536 • Marketing’s Impact on Society as a
Whole 541 • Marketing’s Impact on Other Businesses 542
Pathways to Sustainable Marketing 543
Consumer Actions to Promote Sustainable Marketing 543 • Business Actions toward Sustainable
Marketing 547
Marketing at Work 16.1: Starbucks: Serving the Underserved—Doing Good and Doing Well 548

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16 Contents

Building the Sustainable Marketing Organization 554


Sustainable Marketing Principles 554
Marketing at Work 16.2: Waitrose: Bring Your Own Bag 560
The Sustainable Marketing Organization 561
REVIEWING AND EXTENDING THE CONCEPTS 562
Chapter Review and Key Terms • Objectives Review 562 • Key Terms 563 • Discussion and
Critical Thinking • Discussion Questions 564 • Critical Thinking Exercises 564 • Minicases
and Applications • Digital Marketing 564 • Marketing Ethics 565 • Marketing by the
Numbers 565 • Company Cases 565

Appendix 1 Company Cases 567


Appendix 2 Marketing Plan 599
Appendix 3 Marketing by the Numbers 609
Appendix 4 Careers in Marketing 627
Glossary 641
References 649
Index 684

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Preface
New to This Edition
All That’s New: Marketing in the Age of Disruption
The fifteenth edition of Marketing: An Introduction reflects the major trends and shift-
ing forces that impact marketing in this digital age of customer value, engagement, and
relationships. Here are just some of the major new and continuing changes you’ll find in
this edition.

● Customer engagement framework: This fifteenth edition continues to build on its


customer engagement framework—creating direct and continuous customer involve-
ment in shaping brands, brand conversations, brand experiences, brand advocacy, and
brand community. New coverage and fresh examples throughout the text address the
latest customer engagement tools, practices, and developments.

● Digital marketing: In the fifteenth edition, the digital mar-


keting chapter (Chapter 14) is retitled, heavily restructured,
and much revised, with substantial new framing and content.
Rather than treating digital marketing as a part of the promo-
tion mix, the chapter is now a stand-alone digital marketing

14
strategy chapter focusing on special considerations in pre-
Digital Marketing paring digital marketing campaigns. The recrafted chapter is
organized around a four-step digital marketing process that
involves understanding digital marketing, preparing for a digi-
tal marketing campaign, employing digital channels (online,
Chapter 3: Analyzing the Marketing Environment 95
Objectives Outline social media, and mobile marketing) in an omni-channel strat-
MARKETING AT WORK 3.1digital marketing and discuss its rapid growth and
OBJECTIVE 14-1 Define
benefits to customers and companies. egy, and addressing public policy issues in digital marketing.
OBJECTIVE 14-2 Discuss the consumer and market research required to design
Marketing in the Agedigital
an effective ofmarketing
Disruption:
campaign. Managing the Present and Planning
for the FutureOBJECTIVE
Marketing in the age of disruption: Throughout the fifteenth
14-3 Discuss the different digital channels and media and explain
how companies employ them to create an omni-channel marketing strategy. ●
Disruption in the marketing OBJECTIVE environment
14-4 Identify hasandalways
discuss been
the public to source
policy issuesthe neededbyamounts of more than 100 different raw
presented
around. But it seems todigitalhavemarketing.
accelerated in recent years. The
recent past has been marked by everything from the rapid
ingredients. It tripled production of Lysol by cutting deals with
hundreds of smaller brands to use their surplus production capac-
edition, you’ll find new coverage of how companies are deal-
ing with recent major disruptions in the marketing environ-
rise of digital technologies and large economic swings to ex- ity while at the same time investing in more capacity of its own.
Previewing
treme weather patterns, social and the Concepts
political turmoil, and global To get its products quickly into the hands of needy custom-
health crises. ers, Reckitt slimmed down the sizes and varieties in the Lysol
And then thereInwasprevious
2020,chapters,
marketing is
with allyou
to engage
explored
that plus the
customers
ruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic
the massive
and
basics of dis-
to create
marketing.line,
value for
You learned
them
which that
in order toAnd
ing shelves.
from them in return. Good marketing companies win, keep, and grow customers by
the aim ofeverything from production to stock-
simplified
capture value
even with its increased costs, Reckitt com- ment. The recent past has been marked by everything from
had a huge and wide-ranging impact on consumers and, conse- mitted to keeping prices steady, mindful of the importance of
understanding customer needs, designing customer value–driven marketing strategies,
quently, on the industries
adverse impact oncustomer
and brands
jobs andrelationships.
the economy
that serve
caused
them.
a crash
COVID’s
in con-
maintaining
constructing value-delivering marketing programs, engaging customers, and building
response to
customer
the COVID-19
relationships post-pandemic. Its rapid
disruption paid off for Reckitt’s
the rapid rise of digital technologies and large economic
In this chapter, we dig deeper into the fastest-growing form of
sumer spending. Homebound,
stressed consumers Overdramatically
socially
marketing: digital
the past decade,
distanced,
marketing
changed
marketing
(which and
how has they
financially
includes
undergone
online, socialbrands.
shopped
media, and
a dramaticgained
Lysol finished
mobile
marketspurred
transformation share as
2020 with sales up 70 percent. And it
marketing).
by rivals
the like Clorox stayed flat or strug- swings to extreme environmental patterns, social and political
and what they bought.
surge Such disruptions
in internet usage andcreate
buyingboth threats
as well andadvances
as rapid gledin just totechnologies—from
digital keep up.
opportunities for marketers,
smartphones,
flexible strategies you readwith
to deal
who mustand
tablets,
this chapter,
uncertain
adapt
remember
quickly
IoT devices
times that
to and
and although
create
the spate Perhaps
of online, mobile,
futures. we addressto special
adapt
andno company
social
considerations
media. Asprovides a better example of how
in digital
to major disruptions than KDP. The company was
turmoil, and global health crises. For example, the digital age
has caused a massive shift in what, how, and where consum-
Every brand has marketing strategy
a pandemic separately
story. Somehere, digital marketing
industries suffered mustformed
be carefullytwointegrated
years agowith by the merger of pod coffee brewer
other
more than others. For elementshospitality
example, of marketingand strategy
traveland the marketing mix.
companies, maker Keurig and cold drink maker Dr Pepper Snapple, mak-
Let’s start by looking at Coca-Cola,
airlines, restaurants, theaters, sports entertainment venues, and a company famous for its advertising. Its classic
ing it the only company that covers both the “hot” and “cold”

consumers isolated
mass-media advertising campaigns have informed and entertained generations of
many store retailers saw their fortunes plunge as locked-down sides of the beverage industry.
consumers over many decades. But as the times have changed in this digital age, so has
themselves at home. Many well-known When COVID-19 hit, rather than hunkering down and
the way Coca-Cola communicates with and engages consumers. Although it still relies
ers buy. Wide-ranging social, environmental, and political
brands fell into heavily
Neiman Marcus, Lord
bankruptcy,
& Taylor,
such
Stein
as Hertz,
Mart, and
J.C.
Gold’s
Penney,
on massive advertising campaigns to position the brand andthings
Gym.
Coca-Cola has also mastered digital, social, and mobile media
In contrast, otherdirectly,
companies
waiting
favor.
tell the out,
It pivoted
to engage
brandKDPstory, chose to make the crisis work in its
quickly for the short term but also wanted to
consumers developments require a new approach to social responsibil-
and industries thrived—online
spark brand conversations, and make the brand a part ofadaptability
build into its long-term strategy. “We didn’t think
consumers’ lives.
retailers or those with strong online order and delivery systems,
such as Amazon and Target, video conferencing and other tech
the world would return to normal,” said KDP’s CEO, Bob
Gamgort. So “we forged a blueprint that makes disruption our ity, sustainability, and brand activism. The global COVID-19
companies like Zoom and Microsoft, social media and enter- friend.”
tainment brands like Facebook and Netflix, and home
fitness brands like Peloton, to name only a few.
pandemic had a huge and lasting impact on consumers and,
But even brands that received automatic bumps in
sales from the pandemic faced huge challenges—how to consequently, on the industries and brands that serve them.
serve their consumers well and meet immediate demand
while at the same time preparing for a post-pandemic
“new normal.” For example, take Reckitt, the producer
Such disruptions create both threats and opportunities for
of Lysol disinfectant and a cabinet full of other house-
hold brands that “help people enjoy a cleaner, healthier marketers, who must adapt quickly and create flexible strate-
life.” In the early months of the pandemic, Lysol faced a
gigantic spike in demand. And as people stayed home
and cooked more, they needed more of Reckitt’s Finish
gies that can deal with uncertain times and futures.
dishwashing detergent. Homebound families adopted
more pets, so they needed more of Reckitt’s Resolve
carpet cleaner. And with more cooking and pet smells,
Reckitt had trouble keeping up with demand for its Air
Wick air freshening products.
● Marketing technology: Keeping up with digital con-
Reckitt adapted swiftly and decisively. As early as
January 2020, Reckitt’s CEO instructed his managers to Perhaps no company provides a better example of how to adapt to major
“turn on the factories 24 hours” and go “full blast.” For disruptions in the marketing environment than beverage maker KDP. During the
cepts, technologies, and practices is a top priority and
starters, even as competitors hesitated, Reckitt nailed COVID-19 pandemic, KDP “forged a blueprint that makes disruption our friend.”
down its ingredient supply chain, finding creative ways Eyal Dayan Photography major challenge for today’s marketers. The fifteenth edi-
tion of Marketing: An Introduction provides thoroughly
17

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 17 01/03/22 3:48 PM


18 Preface

refreshed, up-to-date coverage of these explosive developments in every chapter—from


digital, online, mobile, and social media engagement technologies in Chapters 1, 4, 12,
and 14; to “big data,” new marketing analytics, the Internet of Things, and artificial intel-
ligence in Chapters 1, 3, 4, and 14; to the rapid rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing
in Chapters 10, 11, and 14; to the massive shift to omni-channel and digital marketing in
Chapters 11 and 14. The Chapter 1 section “The Digital Age: Online, Mobile, and Social
Media Marketing” introduces the exciting developments in digital and social media mar-
keting. Then a much-revised Chapter 14 on digital marketing digs more deeply into digital
marketing strategy and the digital tools by which marketers engage consumers anywhere,
anytime via their digital devices.

● Fast-changing marketing trends and topics: This edition adds fresh coverage of both tra-
ditional marketing areas and fast-changing topics such as digital, mobile, and social me-
dia marketing; customer engagement marketing; the customer journey; big data, artificial
intelligence, and new marketing analytics; the major digital transformation in marketing
research; omni-channel marketing and the massive shifts in today’s retailing; direct-to-
consumer marketing (DTC); real-time customer listening and marketing; marketing con-
tent creation and curation; B-to-B social media and social selling; online and dynamic
pricing; sustainability and social responsibility; global marketing; and much more.

● Content marketing and marketing communications: The fifteenth edition continues


to track fast-changing developments in marketing communications and the creation
of brand content. Marketers no longer simply create ad-
vertising and integrated marketing communications pro-
grams; they join with customers and media to curate and
share marketing content in paid, owned, earned, and shared
media. You won’t find fresher coverage of these important
topics in any other marketing text.

50 Part 1: Defining Marketing and the Marketing Process


● Global marketing and sustainable marketing: The
fifteenth edition’s global marketing and sustainable
MARKETING AT WORK 1.2
marketing chapters (Chapters 15 and 16) have both
Zoom: A Winning Product and Agile Marketing in the Digital Age been significantly restructured and revised, with new
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sudden move to the digital goals. Zoom has offered scalable and secure communication organizing frameworks, concepts, and examples.
world with remote working, virtual learning, online consultations, and collaboration solutions for individuals, small businesses,
and online socializing becoming the norm. The lockdowns and and large corporates alike. It has developed plans specifically
work-from-home requirements pushed businesses to be nimble in tailored for different industries, including the education sector,
responding to the fast-changing situation and to employees. This healthcare sector, finance sector, government, and the IT sector,

New Real-World Brand Stories, Highlights,


propelled the need for efficient communication tools and video- to offer appropriate features and customer-support systems for
conferencing come up with ways to stay connected with their their respective industries. As the usage and popularity of the
customers and platforms. Although many video-conferencing app kept on increasing in the early days of the pandemic, the
apps like Skype, Cisco, Webex, and Google Meet existed, Zoom,
which was already a major player in the video-conferencing in-
dustry, came into the limelight in a matter of few days during the
company continued to innovate, adding features to enhance the
user experience. Some of its most popular capabilities preferred
by its users include in-meeting chat, meeting recordings, screen
Cases, and In-Text Examples
pandemic. sharing, breakout rooms, virtual backgrounds, raise-hand fea-
Zoom was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan and is headquar-
tered in San Jose, California. Zoom is a cloud-based video com-
ture, remote support, personal meeting ID, waiting room, and
integration with Google and Outlook calendars. The fifteenth edition of Marketing: An Introduction is
munications app that enables its users to set up online video and Although Zoom reached unprecedented levels of popularity
audio conferences and webinars with live chats, screen-sharing,
and other functions for efficient virtual collaboration. During
during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was already on an impres-
sive growth path before the coronavirus triggered lockdowns
loaded with new brand stories, highlight features, cases, in-
the pandemic, Zoom quickly became the benchmark for video
conferencing and a platform providing real-time collaborative
and stay-at-home orders were enforced. It had already done the
groundwork for its exemplary success based on three key factors:
text examples, and end-of-chapter exercises and features
communication for businesses, organizations, public bodies,
schools, colleges, universities, and for personal use around the
1) having a strong customer focus as part of its DNA; 2) building
an innovative product that sells itself; and 3) spending on market- that illustrate brand strategies and contemporary marketing
world. In 2019, it was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchanges. ing and brand building. According to the founder and CEO of
Before the pandemic, people normally imagined video con-
ferencing to mean a serious corporate meeting with partici-
Zoom Eric Yuan, “From the start, Zoom’s main focus had been
to provide a cloud-based video conferencing platform that would
issues and let students apply what they’ve learned.
pants who could not be physically present in the boardroom.
However, the coronavirus changed this perception within a few
days as video calling became the way through which society
operated. Millions of people across the globe who were locked
● Chapter-opening stories, Marketing at Work highlights,
up in their homes resorted to using video conferencing to at-
tend not just work meetings but also birthday parties, school and in-text examples: The fifteenth edition brings
and college classes, virtual concerts, religious events, and even
funerals. These unforeseen circumstances led to a race in the marketing to life with new or heavily revised chapter-
tech industry to fulfill the urgent communication needs of busi-
nesses and individual consumers. Some experts have com-
mented that accelerated adoption behavior exhibited by people
opening vignettes, boxed features that highlight relevant
could be equated to seven years’ worth of adoption behavior as
the market was pushed to plan, implement, and adopt a seven-
companies and marketing issues, and loads of new in-
year plan in two weeks. Zoom seemed to be most ready to
respond to the market needs. According to Business Insider, the text examples throughout that illustrate contemporary
usage of Zoom increased by a whopping 1900 percent between
December 2019 and September 2020!
Zoom’s primary appeal comes from its simplicity and the
marketing practice.
user-friendly experience it offers. The app is easy to get started Real-time marketing: Videoconferencing app Zoom has made
with and the user interface is simple. The company prides itself skillful use of real-time social media marketing to create a fresh,
on delivering happiness to its users by enabling them to con-
nect with others, express ideas, and pursue future dreams and
relevant brand personality and spark ongoing real-time engagement.
Seemanta Dutta / Alamy Stock Photo
● New company cases and end-of-chapter applications
and exercises: The fifteenth edition provides 16 new
company cases by which students can apply what they
learn to actual company situations. End-of-chapter

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 18 01/03/22 3:48 PM


Preface 19

discussion questions, critical thinking exercises, and other applications features are
also new and revised.

Solving Teaching and Learning Challenges


Today’s marketing is all about creating customer value and engagement in a fast-chang-
ing, increasingly digital and social marketplace. Marketing starts with understanding con-
sumer needs and wants, determining which target markets the organization can serve best,
and developing a compelling value proposition by which the organization can attract and
grow valued consumers. Then, more than just making a sale, today’s marketers want to
engage customers and build deep customer relationships that make their brands a mean-
ingful part of consumers’ conversations and lives.
In this digital age, to go along with their tried-and-true traditional marketing meth-
ods, marketers have a dazzling set of new online, mobile, and social media tools for
engaging customers anytime, anyplace to jointly shape brand conversations, experiences,
advocacy, and community. If marketers do these things well, they will reap the rewards in
terms of market share, profits, and customer equity. In the fifteenth edition of Marketing:
An Introduction, students learn how customer value and customer engagement drive
every good marketing strategy.

Six Major Customer Value and Engagement Themes


The fifteenth edition of Marketing: An Introduction builds on six major customer value
and engagement themes:
1. Creating value for customers in order to capture value from customers in return.
Today’s marketers must be good at creating customer value, engaging customers,
and managing customer relationships. In return, they capture value from customers
in the form of sales, profits, and customer equity. This innovative customer value and
engagement framework is introduced at the start of Chapter 1 in a unique five-step
marketing process model (see Figure 1.1), which details how marketing creates cus-
tomer value and captures value in return. The framework is carefully developed in the
first two chapters and then fully integrated throughout the remainder of the text.
2. Customer engagement and today’s digital and social media. Digital, mobile, and
social media have dramatically changed how companies and brands engage con-
sumers, and how consumers connect and influence each other’s brand behaviors.
The fifteenth edition thoroughly explores the exciting digital, mobile, and social
media technologies that help brands to engage customers more deeply and interac-
tively. It starts with two major Chapter 1 sections, “Customer Engagement and To-
day’s Digital, Mobile, and Social Media” and “The Digital Age: Online, Mobile,
and Social Media.” A completely restructured and revised Chapter 14 on digital
marketing summarizes the latest developments in digital marketing strategy and
digital engagement tools. Chapters 11 and 14 discuss the massive shift toward
digital and omni-channel buying and marketing. Everywhere in between, you’ll

Create value for customers and Capture value from


build customer relationships customers in return

Construct an Engage customers,


Understand the Design a Capture value
integrated build profitable
marketplace and customer value- from customers to
marketing program relationships, and
customer needs driven marketing
that delivers create customer
create profits and
and wants strategy
superior value delight customer equity

The Marketing Process: Creating and Capturing Customer Value

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 19 01/03/22 3:48 PM


20 Preface

find revised and expanded coverage of the exploding


use of digital and social marketing tools.
3. Building and managing strong, value-creating brands.
Well-positioned brands with strong brand equity provide
the basis upon which to build customer value and profit-
able customer relationships. Today’s marketers must posi-
tion their brands powerfully and manage them well to create
valued brand experiences. The fifteenth edition provides a
Chapter 11: Retailing and Wholesaling 397
deep focus on brands, anchored by a Chapter 7 section titled
Marketing by the Numbers The Hauz of Spize “Branding Strategy: Building Strong Brands.”
The Malaysian food and grocery retail market offers the same much inventory increases costs and lowers margins, especially
breadth of products that consumers would expect, including
packaged and unpackaged food, beverages, and household
because of perishability. Both conditions reduce profits. One
measure of a reseller’s inventory management effectiveness is 4. Measuring and managing return on marketing. Especially
products. In 2018, the Malaysian food and grocery retail market its stockturn rate (also called inventory turnover rate for manu-
was worth an estimated $48.2 billion with an annual growth
rate of around 9.4 percent. Of this $48.2 billion, 83.2 percent or
facturers). Retailers want to realize a large volume of sales on
as little inventory as possible while maintaining enough stock to
in uneven economic times and an uncertain marketing en-
$40.1 billion was related to food purchases. A further increase
in the market took place after the Malaysian Ministry of Fi-
meet customer demand. To determine this, Gathani would need
to run short-term market tests in selected stores to determine the vironment, marketing managers must ensure that their mar-
keting dollars are being well spent. “Marketing account-
nance scrapped a 6 percent tax on goods and services. This had optimum inventory levels.
a significant impact on the price of food and beverages. 11-14. Using the data below, determine The Hauz of Spize’s
Malaysian restaurateur, Priti Gathani has operated four weekly stockturn rate for fresh produce during one of
What Tasty Food Restaurants for nine years and in March 2021
she opened her first grocery store in the affluent Bangsar, a
the market tests. Refer to Analytic Ratios in Appendix
3: Marketing by the Numbers to learn how to calculate
ability”—measuring and managing marketing return on
residential suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, under the
name The Hauz of Spize.
stockturn rate. (AACSB: Analytical Thinking) investment—has now become an important part of strategic
Gathani and her partners hope that they will break even Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
within the first eight months of operation. She was keen to
open the store, recognizing that regardless of the pandemic or
Cost of goods $76,000 $73,000 $86,000 $98,000 marketing decision making. This emphasis on marketing ac-
sold
changes in the eating habits of customers, they would always
need to obtain their food supplies and that many customers had
Average inventory
at cost
$35,000 $32,000 $38,000 $41,000 countability is addressed in Chapter 2, in Appendix 3: Market-
switched to home cooking during the pandemic. Gathani hopes
to open a chain of stores over the next few years with her focus 11-15. Interpret your answers in the previous question. Is the ing by the Numbers, and throughout the fifteenth edition.
on fresh vegetables, hand-ground spices, and organic produce. weekly stockturn rate of The Hauz of Spize good or
However, finding the right balance of products and stock- bad? What factors should be considered to determine
ing levels is challenging. Not stocking enough merchandise—in
hi f h d l i l l B i fl ti Thi ki )
5. Sustainable marketing around the globe. As technologi-
this? (AACSB: Written and Oral Communication; Re-

cal developments make the world an increasingly smaller


and more fragile place, marketers must be good at market-
ing their brands globally and in sustainable ways. New
material throughout the fifteenth edition emphasizes the
concepts of global marketing and sustainable market-
ing—meeting the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserv-
ing or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The fifteenth
edition integrates global marketing and sustainability topics throughout the text. It
then provides focused coverage on each topic in Chapters 15 and 16, respectively.
Both chapters are substantially restructured and revised in this edition for clarity and
currency.
6. Marketing in the age of disruption. Disruptions in the marketing environment have
always been around. There will be a constant flow of future disruptions, and the “new
normal” will always be elusive and evolving. Throughout the fifteenth edition, you’ll
find discussions and examples of how companies and brands are successfully meeting
disruptive challenges—from the digital revolution and large economic swings, to new-
age disruptive brands, to the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, to wide-
ranging environmental, social, and political movements. As a basic tenet of marketing,
to prosper in this age of disruption or even to survive, marketers must bend and adapt
to fend off the threats and take advantage of the opportunities. They must learn to serve
customers profitably in the face of constant change and uncertainty.

In-Text Teaching and Learning Features


Marketing: An Introduction provides a wealth of chapter-opening, within-chapter, and
end-of-chapter learning features that help students to learn, link, and apply major concepts.

● Integrated chapter-opening preview sections. The active and integrative chapter-


opening spread in each chapter starts with an Objectives Outline that provides a helpful
preview of chapter contents and learning objectives. Next, a Previewing the Concepts
section briefly previews chapter concepts, links them with previous chapter concepts,
and introduces the chapter-opening story. Finally, a chapter-opening vignette—an en-
gaging, deeply developed, illustrated, and annotated marketing story—introduces the
chapter material and sparks student interest.

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 20 01/03/22 3:49 PM


Preface 21

● Author comments and figure annotations. Throughout each


chapter, author comments ease and enhance student learning by
introducing and explaining major chapter sections and figures.
● Reviewing and extending the concepts.
Sections at the end of each chapter summarize
key chapter concepts and provide questions
and exercises by which students can review
and apply what they’ve learned. The Objec-
tives Review and Key Terms section reviews
major chapter concepts and links them to chap-
ter objectives. It also provides a helpful listing
of chapter key terms by order of appearance
to facilitate easy reference. A Discussion and
Critical Thinking section provides discussion
questions and critical thinking exercises that
help students to keep track of and apply what
they’ve learned in the chapter.

● Minicases and Applications. Sections at the


end of each chapter provide brief Digital
Marketing, Marketing Ethics, and Market-
ing by the Numbers applications cases that
facilitate discussion of current issues and
company situations in areas such as mobile
and social marketing, ethics, and finan-
cial marketing analysis. An end-of-chapter
Company Cases section identifies which of
the company cases found in Appendix 1 are
best for use with each chapter.

Developing Employability Skills


● Marketing at Work features. Each chapter contains a chapter-opening story and two
deeply developed Marketing at Work highlight features that provide in-depth looks
at real brand marketing strategies and contemporary marketing issues. For example,
students learn how Amazon’s deep-down passion for creating customer value, en-
gagement, and relationships earns customer buying dollars and loyalty in return; how
UNIQLO tries to live up to its philosophy “Made for All”; why Peloton’s products fly
off the shelves despite their premium prices; and how brands like Wendy’s, Denny’s,
Jollibee, and Zoom harness real-time marketing’s power to engage customers in the
moment. They see how Instagram has made itself a win-win-win for the company,
advertisers, and Instagrammers alike; what makes LinkedIn the place to be for B-to-B
marketers; and how upstart brands like Casper Mattress awakened their slumbering
industries through direct-to-consumer marketing. They learn that artificial intelligence
in marketing is now “a bigger deal than fire and electricity” and how brands ranging
from Walmart and Target to beverage maker Keurig Dr Pepper have learned to deal
with marketing in this age of disruption. No other text brings marketing to life like the
fifteenth edition of Marketing: An Introduction.

● Company Cases. Appendix 1 contains 16 all-new company cases that help students to ap-
ply major marketing concepts and critical thinking to real company and brand situations.

● Marketing Plan appendix. Appendix 2 contains a detailed sample marketing plan that
helps students to apply important marketing planning concepts.

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 21 01/03/22 3:49 PM


22 Acknowledgments

● Marketing by the Numbers appendix. An innovative Appendix 3 provides students


with a comprehensive introduction to the marketing financial analysis that helps
guide, assess, and support marketing decisions. A new or revised exercise at the
end of each text chapter lets students apply analytical and financial thinking to that
chapter’s concepts and links the chapter to the Marketing by the Numbers appendix.

● Careers in Marketing. A newly revised Appendix 4 helps students to explore market-


ing career paths and lays out a process for landing a marketing job that best matches
their special skills and interests.

Instructor Teaching Resources


The fifteenth edition of Marketing: An Introduction comes with the following resources:
● Instructor’s Manual
● Test Bank
● Computerized TestGen
● PowerPoints
For more information and resources, please visit www.pearsonglobaleditions.com/

Acknowledgments
No book is the work only of its authors. We greatly appreciate the valuable contribu-
tions of several people who helped make this new edition possible. As always, we owe
extra-special thanks to Keri Jean Miksza for her dedicated and valuable contributions
to all phases of the project and to her husband Pete and daughters Lucy and Mary for
all the support they provide Keri during this very absorbing project.
We owe substantial thanks to Sridhar Balasubramanian of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill for his essential assistance in restructuring and revising several
chapters in the fifteenth edition, including the digital marketing, global marketing, and
sustainable marketing chapters and other areas of the text. We thank Andy Norman of
Drake University for his skillful help in developing chapter vignettes and highlights,
company cases, and the marketing plan appendix. This and many previous editions have
benefited greatly from Andy’s assistance. We also thank Christy Ashley of the University
of Rhode Island for her dedicated efforts in preparing end-of-chapter materials and for
her updates to the Marketing by the Numbers Appendix. Additional thanks go to those
who worked to update the Instructor’s Manual, PowerPoints, Test Bank, and MyLab
Marketing. All of these contributors are greatly appreciated in making the fifteenth edi-
tion of Marketing: An Introduction a robust teaching and learning system.
Many reviewers at other colleges and universities provided valuable comments and
suggestions for this and previous editions. We are indebted to the following colleagues
for their thoughtful input:

George Bercovitz, York College Donna Hamlin, California State University East Bay
Pari S. Bhagat, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Jan Hardesty, University of Arizona
Sylvia Clark, St. John’s University Hella-Ilona Johnson, Olympic College
Linda Jane Coleman, Salem State University David Koehler, University of Illinois at Chicago
Mary Conran, Temple University Michelle Kunz, Morehead State University
Datha Damron-Martinez, Truman State University Christine Lai, SUNY Buffalo State
Daniel Davied, University of Texas at San Antonio Patrick Lindsay, Miami University
Lawrence K. Duke, Drexel University Susan Mann, University of Northwestern Ohio
Barbara S. Faries, Mission College Thomas E. Marshall, Owens Community College
Ivan Filby, Greenville College Nora Martin, University of South Carolina
John Gaskins, Longwood University Erika Matulich, University of Tampa
Greg Gerfen, Western Michigan University Kristy McManus, University of Georgia
Karen Halpern, South Puget Sound Community College Catherine Mezera, West Virginia University

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 22 01/03/22 3:49 PM


Acknowledgments 23

Laura Munoz, University of Dallas Elliot Schreiber, Drexel University


Marc Newman, Hocking College Lisa Simon, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
John T. Nolan, SUNY, Buffalo State Robert Simon, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Nikolai Ostapenko, University of the District of Columbia Keith Starcher, Indiana Wesleyan University
Vic Piscatello, University of Arizona John Talbott, Indiana University
Kristen Regine, Johnson & Wales University Rhonda Tenenbaum, Queens College
Bill Rice, California State University Deborah Utter, Boston University
Joseph Rice, Macomb Community College Brian Vander Schee, Indiana University
David Robinson, University of California, Berkeley Tom Voigt, Judson University
William M. Ryan, University of Connecticut Terry Wilson, East Stroudsburg University
Amit Saini, University of Nebraska Lincoln Srdan Zdravkovic, Bryant University

We also owe a great deal to the people at Pearson Education who helped develop
this book. Content Strategy Manager Lynn Huddon provided substantial guidance and
support during the revision. We’d also like to thank Product Manager Krista Mastroianni,
Content Producer Claudia Fernandes, and Product Marketing Manager Nayke Heine. We
are proud to be associated with the fine professionals at Pearson. We also owe a mighty
debt of gratitude to Senior Content Project Manager Allison Campbell, Design Manager
Emily Friel, and the rest of the team at Integra for their fine work on this edition.
Finally, we owe many thanks to our families for all of their support and encour-
agement—Kathy, Mandy, Matt, KC, Keri, Delaney, Molly, Macy, and Ben from the
Armstrong clan and Nancy, Amy, Melissa, and Jessica from the Kotler family. To them,
we dedicate this book.
Gary Armstrong
Philip Kotler

Global Edition Acknowledgments


Pearson would like to thank the following people for their work on the Global Edition:

Contributors
Muneeza Shoaib, Lincoln University of Business and Management
Mariusz Soltanifar, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen
Jon and Diane Sutherland

Reviewers
Michael Grund, HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration, Zurich
Karan Vishwanath, University of London
Alice Cheah Wai Kuan, Taylor’s College

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 23 01/03/22 3:49 PM


About the Authors
As a team, Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler provide a blend of skills uniquely suited to
writing an introductory marketing text. Professor Armstrong is an award-winning teacher
of undergraduate business students. Professor Kotler is one of the world’s leading au-
thorities on marketing. Together, they make the complex world of marketing practical,
approachable, and enjoyable.

GARY ARMSTRONG is Crist W. Blackwell Distinguished Professor Emeritus in


the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in business from Wayne State University
in Detroit, and he received his Ph.D. in marketing from Northwestern University. Dr.
Armstrong has contributed numerous articles to leading business journals. As a consul-
tant and researcher, he has worked with many companies on marketing research, sales
management, and marketing strategy.
But Professor Armstrong’s first love has always been teaching. His long-held
Blackwell Distinguished Professorship is the only permanent endowed professorship for
distinguished undergraduate teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He
has been very active in the teaching and administration of Kenan-Flagler’s undergraduate
program. His administrative posts have included Chair of Marketing, Associate Director of
the Undergraduate Business Program, Director of the Business Honors Program, and many
others. Through the years, he has worked closely with business student groups and has
received several UNC campuswide and Business School teaching awards. He is the only
repeat recipient of the school’s highly regarded Award for Excellence in Undergraduate
Teaching, which he received three times. Most recently, Professor Armstrong received the
UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest teaching honor
bestowed by the 16-campus University of North Carolina system.

PHILIP KOTLER is Professor Emeritus of Marketing at the Kellogg School of


Management, Northwestern University. He received his master’s degree at the University
of Chicago and his Ph.D. at M.I.T., both in economics. Dr. Kotler is the co-author of
Marketing Management (Pearson), now in its sixteenth edition and the most widely used
marketing textbook in graduate schools of business worldwide. He has authored more
than 60 other successful books and has published more than 150 articles in leading jour-
nals. He is the only three-time winner of the coveted Alpha Kappa Psi award for the best
annual article in the Journal of Marketing.
Professor Kotler was named the first recipient of four major awards: the Distinguished
Marketing Educator of the Year Award and the William L. Wilkie “Marketing for a Better
World” Award, both given by the American Marketing Association; the Philip Kotler
Award for Excellence in Health Care Marketing presented by the Academy for Health
Care Services Marketing; and the Sheth Foundation Medal for Exceptional Contribution
to Marketing Scholarship and Practice. He is a charter member of the Marketing Hall
of Fame, was voted the first Leader in Marketing Thought by the American Marketing
Association, and was named the Founder of Modern Marketing Management in the
Handbook of Management Thinking. His numerous other major honors include the
Sales and Marketing Executives International Marketing Educator of the Year Award;
the European Association of Marketing Consultants and Trainers Marketing Excellence
Award; the Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award; and the Paul D. Converse
Award, given by the American Marketing Association to honor “outstanding contribu-
tions to science in marketing.” A recent Forbes survey ranks Professor Kotler in the top
10 of the world’s most influential business thinkers. And in a recent Financial Times poll

24

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About the Authors 25

of 1,000 senior executives across the world, Professor Kotler was ranked as the fourth
“most influential business writer/guru” of the twenty-first century. He is considered by
many to be the “father of modern marketing.”
Dr. Kotler has served as chairman of the College on Marketing of the Institute of
Management Sciences, a director of the American Marketing Association, and a trustee
of the Marketing Science Institute. He has consulted with many major U.S. and interna-
tional companies in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organiza-
tion, and international marketing. He has traveled and lectured extensively throughout
Europe, Asia, and South America, advising companies and governments about global
marketing practices and opportunities.

MARC OLIVER OPRESNIK is a professor of Marketing and Management and


Member of the Board of Directors at St. Gallen Management Institute, a leading in-
ternational business school. In addition, he is Professor of Business Administration at
the Technische Hochschule Lübeck as well as a visiting professor to international uni-
versities such as the Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge, Regent’s
University London, and the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST)
in Shanghai.
He has 10 years of experience working in senior management and marketing posi-
tions for Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd.
Dr. Opresnik is the author of numerous articles and books. Along with Kevin Keller
and Phil Kotler, he is a co-author of the German edition of Marketing Management, the
“Bible of Marketing.” He is also a co-author with Phil Kotler and Svend Hollensen of
Social Media Marketing: A Practitioner Approach, which is one of the most widely
used social media marketing textbooks. He is a co-editor and member of the editorial board
of several international journals such as Transnational Marketing Journal, International
Journal of New Technologies in Science and Engineering, and International Journal of
Management & Social Sciences.
In March 2014, he was appointed Chief Research Officer at Kotler Impact Inc., the
internationally operating company of Phil Kotler. In addition, he was appointed Chief
Executive Officer of the Kotler Business Programme, an initiative to enhance marketing
education worldwide via online and offline learning with Pearson as global educational
partner.
As President of his consulting firm Opresnik Management Consulting, he works for
numerous institutions, governments, and international corporations, including Google,
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, SAP, Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble,
Unilever, L’Oréal, Bayer, BASF, and adidas. Over 30 million people have experienced
Dr. Opresnik as a TEDx speaker and presenter at congresses and conferences and as a
trainer in seminars on marketing, sales, and negotiation management at both national and
international levels and have benefited from his insights both professionally and person-
ally. With his many years of international experience as a coach, keynote speaker, and
consultant, Marc Oliver Opresnik is one of the most renowned marketing, management,
and negotiation experts.

A01_ARMS3103_15_GE_FM.indd 25 01/03/22 3:49 PM


PART 1: DEFINING MARKETING AND THE MARKETING PROCESS (CHAPTERS 1–2)

1 Marketing
Creating Customer Value and Engagement

Objectives Outline
OBJECTIVE 1-1 Define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process.
OBJECTIVE 1-2 Explain the importance of understanding the marketplace and
customers and identify the five core marketplace concepts.
OBJECTIVE 1-3 Identify the key elements of a customer value–driven marketing
strategy and discuss the marketing management orientations that guide marketing
strategy.
OBJECTIVE 1-4 Discuss customer relationship management and identify strategies
for creating value for customers and capturing value from customers in return.
OBJECTIVE 1-5 Describe the major trends and forces that are changing the
marketing landscape in this age of relationships.

Previewing the Concepts


This first chapter introduces you to the basic concepts of marketing. We start with the ques-
tion: What is marketing? Simply put, marketing is engaging customers and managing profit-
able customer relationships. The aim of marketing is to create value for customers in order
to capture value from customers in return. Next we discuss the five steps in the marketing
process—from understanding customer needs to designing customer value–driven marketing
strategies and integrated marketing programs to building customer relationships and captur-
ing value for the firm. Finally, we discuss the major trends and forces affecting marketing in
this age of digital, mobile, and social media. Understanding these basic concepts and form-
ing your own ideas about what they really mean to you will provide a solid foundation for all
that follows.
Let’s start with a good story about marketing in action at Amazon, by far the nation’s
leading online marketer. The secret to Amazon’s success? It’s really no secret at all. Amazon
is flat-out customer obsessed. It has a deep-down passion for creating customer value,
engagement, and relationships. In return, customers reward Amazon with their buying dol-
lars and loyalty. You’ll see this theme of creating customer value in order to capture value in
return repeated throughout this chapter and the remainder of the text.

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First Stop
Amazon: Obsessed with Creating Customer
Value, Engagement, and Relationships
When you think of shopping online—or of shopping anywhere, for
that matter—chances are good that you think first of Amazon. The
online pioneer first opened its virtual doors in 1995, selling books
out of founder Jeff Bezos’s garage in suburban Seattle. Amazon
still sells books—lots and lots of books. But it now sells just about
everything else as well, from electronics, housewares, apparel, and
groceries to loose diamonds, musical instruments, and Maine lob-
sters. And Amazon has rapidly moved beyond online selling, not just
into physical stores but also into video and music streaming, cloud
services, and the Internet of Things. If one company best represents
where the world is now headed, it’s probably Amazon.
From the start, Amazon has grown explosively. During just the past Amazon does much more than just sell goods online. It engages
three years, Amazon’s revenues have more than doubled to $386 billion, customers and creates satisfying customer experiences. “The thing
an average of $283,000 every minute of every day. The e-commerce that drives everything is creating genuine value for customers,”
giant now pulls in 45 percent of all U.S. online sales and is the nation’s says Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
second-largest company by revenues, trailing only Walmart. And as © 1996–2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

unthinkable as it might seem, at its current growth rate, Amazon could


overtake even mighty Walmart in as little as two years.
What has made Amazon such an amazing success story? Amazon’s innovations have made the order and delivery process a
Founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos puts it in three simple words: breeze. First it was 1-Click ordering that let customers purchase and
“Obsess over customers.” To its core, the company is relentlessly ship to preset options with just one click. Then Amazon added Dash
customer driven. “The thing that drives everything is creating genu- Buttons—shortcut buttons that let customers quickly reorder favorite
ine value for customers,” says Bezos. Amazon believes that if it does products. If there’s no smartphone or app handy, customers equipped
what’s good for customers, profits will follow. with an Amazon Echo smart speaker can now voice-shop with a
Amazon wants to deliver a special experience to every customer. simple command, “Alexa, reorder laundry detergent”—Amazon’s
Most Amazon.com regulars feel a surprisingly strong relationship artificial intelligence–driven digital assistant will place and ship the
with the company, especially given the almost complete lack of actual order for them. Or easier yet, Amazon’s
human interaction. Amazon obsesses over making each customer’s Subscribe & Save system gives
experience uniquely personal. For example, the Amazon.com site customers discounts for set-
greets customers with their very own home pages, complete with ting up automatic repur-
Amazon’s deep-down
personalized site content and recommendations based on their past chase of consumable
passion for creating
purchase and browsing histories and the purchasing patterns of cus- products. And Amazon
customer value, engagement,
tomers with similar profiles. If it has 300 million Prime and non-Prime Dash Replenishment
and relationships
customers, Amazon reasons, it should have 300 million stores. can even check
has made it the nation’s leading
Visitors to Amazon.com receive a unique blend of benefits: huge product levels in
online retailer. Amazon has become
selection, good value, low prices, and convenience. But it’s the “dis- cloud-connected de-
the model for companies that are
covery” factor that makes the buying experience really special. Once vices (think printer
obsessively and successfully
on Amazon.com, you’re compelled to stay for a while—looking, learn- cartridges) and place
focused on delivering
ing, and discovering. More than just a place to buy things, Amazon. reorders before cus-
customer value.
com has become a kind of online community in which customers can tomers even know they
browse for products, research purchase alternatives, and share opin- are running low.
ions and reviews with other visitors. In this way, Amazon does much As for delivery, no other
more than just sell goods online. It engages customers and creates di- seller—online or offline—has been
rect, personalized customer relationships and satisfying experiences. more effective than Amazon in getting the goods to its customers
From the very start, selection, convenience, and value have been fast. As much as it sells products and convenience, Amazon also
the foundation stones of the Amazon experience. Amazon’s primary sells “speed.” When the online giant first introduced Amazon Prime
goal is to help customers get whatever they want in the shortest pos- more than fifteen years ago, free 48-hour shipping was unheard of;
sible time at the right price. To create even greater selection and now, it’s standard across the industry. So Amazon is working to bring
discovery for customers, Amazon allows competing retailers—from its free Prime shipping down to 24-hours. If that’s not fast enough
mom-and-pop operations to Marks & Spencer—to sell their products for you, there’s Amazon Prime Now—delivery within two hours or
on Amazon.com through the Amazon Marketplace, creating a virtual less. “It’s cheap, easy, and outrageously fast,” says one awestruck
shopping mall of incredible proportions. customer.
27

M01_ARMS3103_15_GE_C01.indd 27 01/03/22 10:01 AM


According to the vice president of Amazon Prime Now, her busi- and prepared foods), Amazon Go convenience and grocery stores (au-
ness boils down to two simple questions: “Do you have what I want, tomated self-checkout), and Amazon Pop Up (temporary stores). In
and can you get it to me when I need it?” Amazon continues to invest addition to selling products, these stores serve as pickup and return lo-
heavily in making the answers to both questions a resounding “yes.” cations for online purchases. And to make returns easier yet, custom-
To build an even faster and more reliable customer delivery experi- ers can simply drop returns off at their nearest Kohl’s or UPS Store.
ence, Amazon is rapidly amassing its own fleets of delivery vans, That’s it. Store employees will pack, label, and ship them back for free.
trucks, and Boeing 767 cargo planes that will make it less dependent So what sweeping new customer-pleasing changes can you
on third-party shippers such as UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. By expect from Amazon in the future? According to Bezos, that’s not
one estimate, Amazon currently delivers two-thirds of its own pack- the most important question. The more important question is what’s
ages. The company is also actively exploring more futuristic options, not going to change? And at Amazon, that’s creating real customer
such as delivery drones, robots, and driverless vehicles. value. “We know that customers want low prices,” says Bezos, “and
As Walmart and other store retailers are increasingly invading I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast
Amazon’s digital domain, the online retailer is also invading their brick- delivery; they want vast selection. And so . . . we know the energy we
and-mortar worlds. It knows that a complete customer relationship will put into [those things] today will still be paying off dividends for our
require merging online and offline selling into the seamless omni-channel customers 10 years from now.”
shopping experience that today’s consumers expect. For example, Thus, Amazon has become the poster child for companies that
Amazon’s purchase of upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market gave are obsessively and successfully focused on delivering customer
it a leap forward in grocery retailing and also provided a physical store value. “Our customers are loyal to us right up until the second some-
platform for the selling and more speedy delivery of other kinds of goods. body offers them a better service,” says Bezos. “And I love that. It’s
Amazon is expanding its physical store presence further with store super-motivating for us.” He concludes, “When things get compli-
concepts such as Amazon Books (books), Amazon 4-Star (selections cated, we simplify them by asking, ‘What’s best for the customer?’
of top-rated or trending items), Amazon Fresh (assortments of fresh We believe that if we do that, things will work out in the long term.”1

oday’s successful companies have one thing in common: Like Amazon, they are
T strongly customer focused and heavily committed to marketing. These companies
share a passion for satisfying customer needs in well-defined target markets. They
motivate everyone in the organization to help build lasting customer relationships based on
creating value.
Customer relationships and value are especially important today. Facing dramatic tech-
nological advances and deep economic, social, and environmental disruptions, today’s cus-
tomers are reassessing how they engage with brands. New digital, mobile, and social media
developments have revolutionized how consumers shop and interact, in turn calling for new
marketing strategies and tactics. It’s now more important than ever to build strong customer
engagement, relationships, and advocacy based on real and enduring customer value.
We’ll discuss the exciting new challenges facing both customers and marketers later in
the chapter. But first, let’s introduce the basics of marketing.

Author Comment What Is Marketing?


Pause here and think about how you’d
answer this question before studying
OBJECTIVE 1-1 Define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process.
marketing. Then see how your answer Marketing, more than any other business function, deals with customers. Although we will
changes as you read the chapter. soon explore more detailed definitions of marketing, perhaps the simplest definition is this
one: Marketing is engaging customers and managing profitable customer relationships.
The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and
to keep and grow current customers by delivering value and satisfaction.
For example, Amazon dominates the online marketplace by creating a world-class
online buying experience that helps customers to “find and discover anything they might
want to buy online.” Facebook has attracted more than 2.7 billion monthly active web and
mobile users worldwide by helping them to “connect and share with the people in their
lives.” And Starbucks dominates the U.S. out-of-home coffee market by “creating a culture
of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.”2
Sound marketing is critical to the success of every organization. Large for-profit firms
such as Apple, Target, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Microsoft use marketing. But so
do not-for-profit organizations, such as colleges, hospitals, museums, symphony orches-
tras, and even churches.
28

M01_ARMS3103_15_GE_C01.indd 28 01/03/22 10:01 AM


Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
apotheosis of womanhood, sketched by Guido Guinizelli, is
developed with mystical fullness, and there is even perhaps a hint of
some future work in honour of Beatrice that will deal with the world
beyond the grave. The two sonnets that follow are a kind of
supplement; the first:

Amore e ’l cor gentil sono una cosa,

“Love and the gentle heart are one same thing,” gives a definition of
love, elaborating the Guinizellian doctrine; the second:

Ne li occhi porta la mia donna Amore,

“Within her eyes my lady carries Love,” pursues the conception


further, to represent Beatrice herself as the creatrix of the divine gift
of gentilezza by which the heart is capable of noble love. Two
sonnets on the death of Beatrice’s father lead up to a veritable lyrical
masterpiece, the canzone:

Donna pietosa e di novella etate,

“A lady pitiful and of tender age,” the anticipatory vision of Beatrice’s


death—the “Dante’s Dream” of Rossetti’s famous picture. The
following sonnet, in which Beatrice and Cavalcanti’s lady, Primavera
or Giovanna, appear together, is the only place in the Vita Nuova
where Dante calls her whom he loved by the name by which she
was actually known—“Bice.” Love now no longer appears weeping,
but speaks joyfully in the poet’s heart. All that was personal in
Dante’s worship seems to have passed away with his earlier
lamentations; his love has become a transcendental rapture, an
ecstasy of self-annihilation. This part of the book culminates in the
two sonnets:
Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare,

“So noble and so pure seems my lady,” in which a similar sonnet of


Guinizelli’s is easily surpassed, and

Vede perfettamente onne salute,

“He seeth perfectly all bliss, who beholds my lady among the ladies”;
sonnets which are flawless gems of mediaeval poetry. Then abruptly,
in the composition of a canzone which should have shown how Love
by means of Beatrice regenerated his soul, the pen falls from his
hand: Beatrice has been called by God to Himself, to be glorious
under the banner of Mary, “How doth the city sit solitary that was full
of people!”
Some falling off may be detected here and there in the third part of
the Vita Nuova (xxix. to xli.), which includes the prose and poetry
connected with Beatrice’s death, the love for the lady who takes pity
upon the poet’s grief, his repentance and return to Beatrice’s
memory. A stately canzone:

Li occhi dolenti per pietà del core,

“The eyes that grieve for pity of the heart,” is a companion piece to
the opening canzone of the second part; the poet now speaks of
Beatrice’s death in the same form and to the same love-illumined
ladies to whom he had formerly sung her praises. More beautiful are
the closing lines of the shorter canzone, written for Dante’s second
friend, who was apparently Beatrice’s brother. After the charming
episode of the poet drawing an Angel on her anniversary, the “gentle
lady, young and very fair,” inspires him with four sonnets; and his
incipient love for her is dispelled by a “strong imagination,” a vision of
Beatrice as he had first seen her in her crimson raiment of childhood.
The bitterness of Dante’s repentance is a foretaste of the confession
upon Lethe’s bank in the Purgatorio. The pilgrims pass through the
city on their way to Rome, “in that season when many folk go to see
that blessed likeness which Jesus Christ left us as exemplar of His
most beauteous face, which my lady sees in glory” (V. N. xli.); and
this third part closes with the sonnet in which Dante calls upon the
pilgrims to tarry a little, till they have heard how the city lies desolate
for the loss of Beatrice.
In the epilogue (xlii., xliii.), in answer to the request of two of those
noble ladies who throng the ways of Dante’s mystical city of youth
and love as God’s Angels guard the terraces of the Mount of
Purgation, Dante writes the last sonnet of the book; wherein a “new
intelligence,” born of Love, guides the pilgrim spirit beyond the
spheres into the Empyrean to behold the blessedness of Beatrice. It
is an anticipation of the spiritual ascent of the Divina Commedia,
which is confirmed in the famous passage which closes the “new life”
of Love:
“After this sonnet there appeared unto me a wonderful vision:
wherein I saw things which made me purpose to say no more of this
blessed one, until such time as I could discourse more worthily
concerning her. And to attain to that I labour all I can, even as she
knoweth verily. Wherefore if it shall be His pleasure, through whom is
the life of all things, that my life continue for some years, I hope that I
shall yet utter concerning her what hath never been said of any
woman. And then may it seem good unto Him, who is the Lord of
courtesy, that my soul may go hence to behold the glory of its lady:
to wit, of that blessed Beatrice who gazeth gloriously upon the
countenance of Him who is blessed throughout all ages.”[10]
From the mention of the pilgrimage, and this wonderful vision, it
has been sometimes supposed that the closing chapters of the Vita
Nuova were written in 1300. It seems, however, almost certain that
there is no reference whatever to the year of Jubilee in the first case.
When Dante’s positive statement in the Convivio, that he wrote the
Vita Nuova at the entrance of manhood (gioventute being the twenty
years from twenty-five to forty-five, Conv. iv. 24), is compared with
the internal evidence of the book itself, the most probable date for its
completion would be between 1291 and 1293. It should, however, be
borne in mind that, while there is documentary evidence that some of
the single poems were in circulation before 1300, none of the extant
manuscripts of the whole work can be assigned to a date much
earlier than the middle of the fourteenth century. It is, therefore, not
inconceivable that the reference to the vision may be associated with
the spiritual experience of 1300 and slightly later than the rest of the
book.[11]
The form of the Vita Nuova, the setting of the lyrics in a prose
narrative and commentary, is one that Dante may well have invented
for himself. If he had models before his eyes, they were probably, on
the one hand, the razos or prose explanations which accompanied
the poems of the troubadours, and, on the other, the commentaries
of St. Thomas Aquinas on the works of Aristotle, which Dante
imitates in his divisions and analyses of the various poems. His
quotations show that he had already studied astronomy, and made
some rudimentary acquaintance with Aristotle and with the four chief
Latin poets; the section in which he speaks of the latter, touching
upon the relations between classical and vernacular poetry (xxv.),
suggests the germ of the De Vulgari Eloquentia. The close of the
book implies that he regarded lack of scientific and literary
equipment as keeping him from the immediate fulfilment of the
greater work that he had even then conceived for the glory of
Beatrice.
In the Convivio, where all else is allegorical, Beatrice is still simply
his first love, lo primo amore (ii. 16). Even when allegorically
interpreting the canzone which describes how another lady took her
place in his heart, after her death, as referring to Philosophy, there is
no hint of any allegory about quella viva Beatrice beata, “that
blessed Beatrice, who lives in heaven with the Angels and on earth
with my soul” (Conv. ii. 2). When about to plunge more deeply into
allegorical explanations, he ends what he has to say concerning her
by a digression upon the immortality of the soul (Conv. ii. 9): “I so
believe, so affirm, and so am certain that I shall pass after this to
another better life, there where that glorious lady lives, of whom my
soul was enamoured.”
Those critics who question the reality of the story of the Vita
Nuova, or find it difficult to accept without an allegorical or idealistic
interpretation, are best answered in Dante’s own words: Questo
dubbio è impossibile a solvere a chi non fosse in simile grado fedele
d’Amore; e a coloro che vi sono è manifesto ciò che solverebbe le
dubitose parole; “This difficulty is impossible to solve for anyone who
is not in similar grade faithful unto Love; and to those who are so,
that is manifest which would solve the dubious words” (V. N. xiv.).

2. The “Rime”
The Rime—for which the more modern title, Canzoniere, has
sometimes been substituted—comprise all Dante’s lyrical poems,
together with others that are more doubtfully attributed to him. In the
Vita Nuova were inserted three canzoni, two shorter poems in the
canzone mould, one ballata, twenty-five sonnets (including two
double sonnets). The “testo critico” of the Rime, edited by Michele
Barbi for the sexcentenary Dante, in addition to these accepts as
authentic sixteen canzoni (the sestina is merely a special form of
canzone), five ballate, thirty-four sonnets, and two stanzas. Dante
himself regards the canzone as the noblest form of poetry (V. E. ii.
3), and he expounded three of his canzoni in the Convivio. From the
middle of the fourteenth century onwards, a large number of MSS.
give these three and twelve others (fifteen in all) as a connected
whole in a certain definite order, frequently with a special rubric in
Latin or Italian prefixed to each; this order and these rubrics are due
to Boccaccio.[12] It has been more difficult to distinguish between the
certainly genuine and the doubtful pieces among the ballate and
sonnets, and the authenticity of some of those now included by Barbi
in the canon is still more or less open to question. The Rime, on the
whole, are the most unequal of Dante’s works; a few of the sonnets,
particularly some of the earlier ones and those in answer to other
poets, have but slight poetic merit, while several of the later canzoni
rank among the world’s noblest lyrics. In the sexcentenary edition
the arrangement of the lyrics is tentatively chronological, with
subsidiary groupings according to subject-matter. While following the
same general scheme, I slightly modify the arrangement, as certain
poems regarded by Barbi as “rime d’amore” appear to me to be
more probably allegorical.
(a) A first group belongs to the epoch of the Vita Nuova.
Conspicuous among them are two canzoni. One:

La dispietata mente che pur mira,

“Pitiless memory that still gazes back at the time gone by,” is
addressed directly to a woman (in this respect differing from Dante’s
other canzoni), who is probably the second lady represented as the
poet’s screen. The other:

E ’m’ incresce di me si duramente,

“I grieve for myself so bitterly,” seems to give fuller expression to the


first part of the Vita Nuova with an alien note—the image of the little
maiden has yielded to that of the woman whose great beauty is the
object of unattainable desire. At times a lighter note is struck; Dante
is apparently simply supplying words for composers to set to music,
or revealing a spirit of playfulness of which there is no trace in the
Vita Nuova.[13] Besides sonnets in honour of Beatrice, we have a
few relating to other women, and in two ballate even their names are
given: Fioretta and Violetta. One delightful sonnet:

Sonar bracchetti e cacciatori aizzare,

“Beagles questing and huntsmen urging on,” reveals the poet taking
part in sport and appreciating a jape at his own expense. A number
of correspondence sonnets belong to this epoch, a small series
addressed to Dante da Maiano (of which no MS. has been
preserved) being probably earlier than the first sonnet of the Vita
Nuova. A note of pure romance is struck in the charming sonnet to
Guido Cavalcanti, in which the younger poet wishes that they two,
with Lapo Gianni and their three ladies (Dante’s being the first lady
who screened his love), might take a voyage over enchanted seas in
Merlin’s magic barque. Several admirable sonnets, now included in
this group, were formerly attributed to Cino da Pistoia.[14]
(b) The tenzone with Forese Donati forms a little group apart. Its
date is uncertain, but may be plausibly taken as between 1290 and
1296. These sonnets, though not free from bitterness which is
perhaps serious, may be regarded as exercises in that style of
burlesque and satirical poetry to which even Guido Guinizelli had
once paid tribute, and which Rustico di Filippo had made
characteristically Florentine.
(c) Next comes a group of poems, connected with the allegory of
the Convivio, in which an intellectual ideal is pursued with the
passion and wooed in the language of the lover who adores an
earthly mistress. “I say and affirm that the lady, of whom I was
enamoured after my first love, was the most beautiful and most pure
daughter of the Emperor of the Universe, to whom Pythagoras gave
the name Philosophy” (Conv. ii. 16). By some, not entirely
reconcilable, process the donna gentile, who appears at the end of
the Vita Nuova, has become a symbol of Philosophy, and the poet’s
love for her a most noble devotion. The canzone:

Voi che ’ntendendo il terzo ciel movete,

“Ye who by understanding move the third heaven” describing the


conflict in Dante’s mind between this new love and the memory of
Beatrice, deals again with the matter of one of the sonnets of the
Vita Nuova; but the allegory is perhaps an after-thought. It is
commented upon in the second treatise of the Convivio and quoted
in Canto viii. of the Paradiso. The other poems of this group seem
purely allegorical: “By love, in this allegory, is always intended that
study which is the application of the enamoured mind to that thing of
which it is enamoured” (Conv. ii. 16). At first this service is painful
and laborious; and the mystical lady seems a cruel and proud
mistress, as she is represented in the “pitiful ballata”:

Voi che savete ragionar d’Amore,

“Ye who know how to discourse of love,” which is referred to in the


third treatise of the Convivio (iii. 9). But the defect is on the lover’s
own part, and in her light the difficulties which sundered him and her
are dispersed like morning clouds before the face of the sun. This
mystical worship culminates in the supreme hymn to his spiritual
mistress, whose body is Wisdom and whose soul is Love:

Amor che ne la mente mi ragiona,

“Love that in my mind discourses to me of my lady desirously,” which


is the second canzone of the Convivio (quoted in V. E. ii. 6), the
amorous song that Casella was to sing “met in the milder shades of
Purgatory.” It is one of Dante’s lyrical masterpieces. Hardly less
beautiful is the canzone, likewise cited in the De Vulgari Eloquentia
(V. E. ii. 5, II):

Amor, che movi tua vertù dal cielo,

“Love that movest thy power from heaven”; with a mystical


comparison of the workings of love to those of the sun and striking
lines on the supernatural power of the illumined imagination. This
allegorical group may be regarded as closed by the canzone:

Io sento si d’Amor la gran possanza,


“I feel so the great power of love,” in which Dante represents himself
as too young to obtain his lady’s grace, but is content to serve on,
finding the quest of philosophic truth its own reward. This poem has
two commiati (the commiato, or tornata, being the stanza or part of a
stanza, or a few independent lines, added as an address or farewell
at the end of a canzone); both seem to imply that philosophic verse
may be the instrument of political or social reform.[15]
(d) Dante originally held that Italian poetry should only be used for
writing upon love, and therefore, in his younger days, a philosophical
poem would naturally take the form of a love ode. In the Vita Nuova,
he argues “against those who rhyme upon any matter other than
amorous; seeing that such mode of speech was originally found for
speaking of love” (V. N. xxv). His views naturally widened before he
wrote his later canzoni (cf. V. E. ii. 2); but when, lacking inspiration
for a higher lyrical flight or baffled by some metaphysical problem, he
turns to set erring men right in didactic canzoni on some humbler
ethical subject, he represents himself as so doing because out of
favour with his lady or deserted by love. Thus, “The sweet rhymes of
love, which I was wont to seek in my thoughts, needs must I leave”—

Le dolci rime d’amor, ch’i’ solia

—opens the canzone on the spiritual nature of true gentilezza


(inspired in part by Guinizelli), which is expounded in the fourth
treatise of the Convivio, and, although somewhat unequal, contains
one ineffable stanza upon the noble soul in life’s four stages. A
companion poem:

Poscia ch’Amor del tutto m’ ha lasciato,

“Since love has left me utterly,” deals with leggiadria, the outward
expression of a chivalrous soul, and shows the influence of the
Tesoretto of Brunetto Latini. These two canzoni, which contain
transcripts from the Aristotelian Ethics, only here and there become
poetry. In the larger proportion of short lines in the stanza, Dante
seems feeling his way to a more popular metrical form and a freer
treatment, as well as a wider range of subject. The second has
satirical sketches of vicious or offensive types of men, with whom he
will deal more severely in the Commedia.
(e) There are certain lyrics of Dante’s which can hardly admit of an
allegorical interpretation, but are almost certainly the expression of
passionate love for real women. Most notable among these are a
group of four canzoni, known as the rime per la donna pietra, which
are characterised by a peculiar incessant playing upon the word
pietra, or “stone,” which has led to the hypothesis that they were
inspired by a lady named Pietra, or at least by one who had been as
cold and rigid as Beatrice had been the giver of blessing. The
canzone of the aspro parlare:

Così nel mio parlar voglio esser aspro,

“So in my speech would I be harsh, as this fair stone is in her acts,”


shows that Dante could be as terrible in his love as in his hate, and
has a suggestion of sensuality which we hardly find elsewhere in his
poetry. It is indirectly referred to in the Convivio, and quoted by
Petrarch. The other three canzoni of this “stony” group show very
strongly the influence of the Provençal Arnaut Daniel in their form,
and all their imagery is drawn from nature in winter. The sestina:

Al poco giorno e al gran cerchio d’ombra,

“To the short day and the large circle of shade have I come,” is the
first Italian example of that peculiar variety of the canzone which was
invented by Arnaut (V. E., ii. 10, 13). It gives a most wonderful
picture of this strange green-robed girl, her golden hair crowned with
grass like Botticelli’s Libyan Sibyl, in the meadow “girdled about with
very lofty hills.” Less beautiful and more artificial, the canzone:
Amor, tu vedi ben che questa donna,

“Love, thou seest well that this lady cares not for thy power,” is
likewise quoted with complacency, for its novelty and metrical
peculiarity, in the De Vulgari Eloquentia (ii. 13). And the passion of
the whole group is summed up in the poem on Love and Winter:

Io son venuto al punto de la rota,

“I am come to the point of the wheel,” where, stanza by stanza, the


external phenomena of the world in winter are contrasted with the
state of the poet’s soul, ever burning in the “sweet martyrdom” of
love’s fire. It is the ultimate perfection of a species of poem
employed by Arnaut and other troubadours; another lyrical
masterpiece, anticipating in its degree the treatment of nature which
we find in the Commedia. These four poems were probably
composed shortly before Dante’s banishment, but another canzone
of somewhat similar tone was certainly written in exile—the famous
and much discussed “mountain song”:

Amor, da che convien pur ch’io mi doglia,

“Love, since I needs must make complaint,” apparently describing an


overwhelming passion for the fair lady of the Casentino; its pathetic
close, with its reference to Florence, has been already quoted. The
striking sonnet to Cino da Pistoia about the same time:

Io sono stato con Amore insieme.

“I have been in company with love since the circling of my ninth sun,”
affords further testimony that, at certain epochs of his life, earthly
love took captive Dante’s freewill.
(f) To the earlier years of Dante’s exile belongs the noblest and
most sublime of his lyrics, the canzone:

Tre donne intorno al cor mi son venute,

“Three ladies are come around my heart and are seated without, for
within sits Love who is in lordship of my life.” They are Justice and
her spiritual children; Love prophesies the ultimate triumph of
righteousness, and the poet, with such high companionship in
outward misfortune, declares that he counts his exile as an honour.
While recalling the legend of the apparition of Lady Poverty and her
two companions to St. Francis of Assisi, and a poem of Giraut de
Borneil on the decay of chivalry, the canzone echoes Isaiah (ch. li.).
Its key may be found in the prophet’s words: “Hearken unto me, ye
that know Justice, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not
the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” It was
probably written between 1303 and 1306; its opening lines have
been found transcribed in a document of 1310.[16] To about the
same epoch must be assigned the powerful canzone against vice in
general and avarice in particular:

Doglia mi reca ne lo core ardire,

“Grief brings daring into my heart,” which is cited in the De Vulgari


Eloquentia (associated with another poem of Giraut de Borneil) as a
typical poem on rectitudo, “righteousness,” “the direction of the will”
(V. E. ii. 2). These two canzoni are the connecting link between the
Rime and the Commedia; the first contains the germ of Dante’s
prophecy of the Veltro, his Messianic hope of the Deliverer to come,
who shall make Love’s darts shine with new lustre and renovate the
world; in the second, we already catch the first notes of the saeva
indignatio of the sacred poem. With the exception of the “montanina
canzone” and some sonnets to Cino da Pistoia, Dante wrote few
other lyrics at this period[17]; indeed, one of the sonnets seems to
imply that he had finally turned away from such poetry (da queste
nostre rime) in contemplation of his greater task:

Io mi credea del tutto esser partito,

“I deemed myself to have utterly departed from these our rhymes,


Messer Cino, for henceforth another path befits my ship and further
from the shore.”

3. The “Convivio”
The Convivio, or “Banquet,” bears a somewhat similar relation to
the work of Dante’s second period as the Vita Nuova did to that of
his adolescence. Just as after the death of Beatrice he collected his
earlier lyrics, furnishing them with prose narrative and commentary,
so now in exile he intended to put together fourteen of his later
canzoni and write a prose commentary upon them, to the honour
and glory of his mystical lady, Philosophy. Dante was certainly not
acquainted with Plato’s Symposium. It was from the De Consolatione
Philosophiae of Boëthius that the idea came to him of representing
Philosophy as a woman; but the “woman of ful greet reverence by
semblaunt,” who “was ful of so greet age, that men ne wolde nat
trowen, in no manere, that she were of oure elde” (so Chaucer
renders Boëthius), is transformed to the likeness of a donna gentile,
the idealised human personality of the poetry of the “dolce stil
nuovo”:
“And I imagined her fashioned as a gentle lady; and I could
not imagine her in any bearing save that of compassion;
wherefore so willingly did the sense of truth look upon her,
that scarcely could I turn it from her. And from this imagining I
began to go there where she revealed herself in very sooth, to
wit, in the schools of religious and at the disputations of
philosophers; so that in a short time, perchance of thirty
months, I began to feel so much of her sweetness, that her
love drove out and destroyed every other thought” (Conv. ii.
13).
The Convivio is an attempt to bring philosophy out of the schools
of religious and away from the disputations of philosophers, to
render her beauty accessible even, to the unlearned. “The Convivio”,
says Dr. Wicksteed, “might very well be described as an attempt to
throw into popular form the matter of the Aristotelian treatises of
Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas.” Dante’s text is the opening
sentence of Aristotle’s Metaphysics: “All men by nature desire to
know”; which he elaborates from the commentary of Aquinas and the
latter’s Summa contra gentiles. He would gather up the crumbs
which fall from the table where the bread of Angels is eaten, and
give a banquet to all who are deprived of this spiritual food. It is the
first important work on philosophy written in Italian—an innovation
which Dante thinks necessary to defend in the chapters of the
introductory treatise, where he explains his reasons for commenting
upon these canzoni in the vernacular instead of Latin, and
incidentally utters an impassioned defence of his mother-tongue,
with noteworthy passages on the vanity of translating poetry into
another language and the potentialities of Italian prose (Conv. i. 7,
10).
In addition to this principal motive for writing the work, the desire of
giving instruction, Dante himself alleges another—the fear of infamy,
timore d’infamia (Conv. i. 2): “I fear the infamy of having followed
such great passion as whoso reads the above-mentioned canzoni
will conceive to have held sway over me; the which infamy ceases
entirely by the present speaking of myself, which shows that not
passion, but virtue, has been the moving cause.” It would seem that
Dante intended to comment upon certain of the canzoni connected
with real women, and to represent them as allegorical; it may be that,
consumed with a more than Shelleyan passion for reforming the
world, he chose this method of getting rid of certain episodes in the
past which he, with too much self-severity, regarded as rendering
him unworthy of the sublime office he had undertaken. And, by a
work of lofty style and authority, he would rehabilitate the man who,
in his exiled wanderings, had “perchance cheapened himself more
than truth wills” (i. 4).
Only the introductory treatise and three of the commentaries were
actually written: those on the canzoni Voi cite ’ntendendo, Amor che
ne la mente mi ragiona, Le dolci rime d’amor. If the whole work had
been completed on the same scale as these four treatises, a great
part of the field of knowledge open to the fourteenth century would
have been traversed in the ardent service of this mystical lady, whom
the poet in the second treatise—not without considerable
inconsistency—represents as the same as the donna gentile who
appeared towards the end of the Vita Nuova (Conv. ii. 2). As it is, the
movements of the celestial bodies, the ministry of the angelic orders,
the nature of the human soul and the grades of psychic life, the
mystical significance and universality of love, are among the subjects
discussed in the second and third treatises. The fourth treatise is
primarily ethical: nobility as inseparable from love and virtue, wealth,
the Aristotelian definition of moral virtue and human felicity, the goal
of human life, the virtues suitable to each age, are among the
themes considered. Under one aspect the Convivio is a vernacular
encyclopaedia (like the Trésor of Brunetto Latini), but distinguished
from previous mediaeval works of the kind by its peculiar form, its
artistic beauty, and its personal note. From the first treatise it is
evident that the whole work had been fully planned; but it is not
possible to reconstruct it with any plausibility, or to decide upon the
question of which of the extant canzoni were to be included, and in
what order. From iv. 26, it may be conjectured that the passionate
canzone, Così nel mio parlar voglio esser aspro (Rime ciii., O. canz.
xii.), was to be allegorised in the seventh treatise; while, from i. 12, ii.
1, iv. 27, it appears fairly certain that the canzone of the three ladies,
Tre donne intorno al cor (Rime civ., O. canz. xx.), would have been
expounded in the fourteenth, where Justice and Allegory were to
have been discussed; and, from i. 8 and iii. 15, that the canzone
against the vices, Doglia mi reca (Rime cvi., O. canz. x.), was
destined for the poetical basis of the last treatise of all. It is thus clear
that the Convivio would have ended with the two canzoni which form
the connecting link between the lyrical poems and the Divina
Commedia. For the rest, it is certain that there would have been no
mention of Beatrice in any of the unwritten treatises. In touching
upon the immortality of the soul (Conv. ii. 9), Dante had seen fit to
end what he wished to say of “that living blessed Beatrice, of whom I
do not intend to speak more in this book.” There seems also good
reason for supposing that the canzone for the beautiful lady of the
Casentino (Rime cxvi., O. canz. xi.), which may be of a slightly later
date than the others, would not have formed part of the completed
work.
Witte and others after him have supposed that the Convivio
represents an alienation from Beatrice; that the Philosophy, which
Dante defines as the amorous use of wisdom, is a presumptuous
human science leading man astray from truth and felicity along the
dangerous and deceptive paths of free speculation. There is,
however, nothing in the book itself to support this interpretation,[18]
and, indeed, a comparison between the second canzone, Amor che
ne la mente mi ragiona, and the first canzone of the Vita Nuova
points to the conclusion that the personification of philosophy is but a
phase in the apotheosis of Beatrice herself. The Convivio is the first
fruit of Dante’s labours to fulfil the promise made at the end of the
book of his youth; his knowledge of literature and philosophy has
immeasurably widened, his speculations on human life and nature
have matured, and his prose style, in its comparative freedom and
variety, its articulation and passages of spontaneous eloquence,
shows a vast progress from that of the Vita Nuova.
There are passages in the Convivio which appear to be
contradicted in the Divina Commedia. One of the most curious is the
treatment of Guido da Montefeltro, who, in Conv. iv. 28, is “our most
noble Italian,” and a type of the noble soul returning to God in the
last stage of life, whereas, in the Inferno (Canto xxvii.), he is found in
the torturing flames of the evil counsellors. Several opinions are
directly or indirectly withdrawn in the Paradiso; but these are to be
rather regarded as mistakes which, in the light of subsequent
knowledge, Dante desired to rectify or repudiate; such as the theory
of the shadow on the moon being caused by rarity and density,
based upon Averroës, and a peculiar arrangement of the celestial
hierarchies, derived from the Moralia of St. Gregory the Great. And,
in the Purgatorio, the poet discards his “dread of infamy,” when he
dares not meet Beatrice’s gaze in the Garden of Eden; he casts
aside the allegorical veil he had tried to draw over a portion of the
past, and makes the full confession which we find in Cantos xxx. and
xxxi. In the fourth treatise, an erroneous sentence attributed to
Frederick II. (in reality a mutilated version of the definition of nobility
given by Aristotle in the Politics) leads Dante to examine the limits
and foundation of the imperial authority, the divine origin of Rome
and the universal dominion of the Roman people, the relation of
philosophy to government; a theme which he will work out more fully
and scientifically in the Monarchia. The result is two singularly
beautiful chapters (iv.-v.); a prose hymn to Rome, an idealised
history of the city and her empire. It is the first indication of the poet’s
conversion from the narrower political creed of the Florentine citizen
to the ideal imperialism which inspires his later works.
It has sometimes been held that portions of the Convivio were
written before exile. Nevertheless, while two of the canzoni were
composed before 1300, it seems most probable that the prose
commentaries took their present shape between Dante’s breaking
with his fellow-exiles and the advent of Henry VII. A passage
concerning Frederick II., “the last emperor of the Romans with
respect to the present time, although Rudolph and Adolph and Albert
were elected after his death and that of his descendants” (Conv. iv.
3), shows that the fourth treatise was written before the election of
Henry VII., in November 1308; while a reference to Gherardo da
Cammino, lord of Treviso (iv. 14), seems to have been written after
his death in March 1306. From the mention of Dante’s wanderings in
exile through so many regions of Italy (i. 3), it has sometimes been
argued that the first is later than the subsequent treatises. It is
tempting to associate the breaking off the work with Boccaccio’s
story of the recovery of the beginning of the Inferno. Be that as it
may, the advent of the new Caesar, Dante’s own return for a while to
political activity, probably interrupted his life of study; and, when the
storm passed away and left the poet disillusioned, his ideals had
changed, another world lay open to his gaze, and the Convivio was
finally abandoned.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] Io spero di dicer di lei quello che mai non fue detto
d’alcuna: dicer (dire) and detta, have here (as elsewhere in
Dante) the sense of artistic utterance, and more particularly
composition in poetry, whether in Latin or the vernacular. Cf. V. N.
xxv.
[11] Livi has shown that the first documentary evidence of the
existence of the Vita Nuova as a book is found at Bologna in June
1306.
[12] The Sexcentenary Dante admits as authentic one canzone
not included in this series: Lo doloroso amor che mi conduce
(Rime lxviii., O. canz. xvi.*); which is evidently an early
composition.
[13] Cf. Rime xlviii., lvi., lxiii. and the later xcix.; O. son. xlviii.*,
ball. viii., son. I.*, son. xxxvii.*
[14] Note especially Rime lix., lxvi.; O. sonnets lv., xxxviii*.
[15] To this group I would assign the sonnet, Chi guarderà già
mai sanza paura, and the ballata, I’ mi son pargoletta bella e
nova, without attaching any special significance to the fact that
“pargoletta” (“maiden” or “young girl”) occurs also in the canzone,
Io son venuto al punto de la rota, and in Beatrice’s rebuke, Purg.
xxxi. 59.
[16] Cf. G. Livi, Dante suoi primi cultori sua gente in Bologna, p.
24.
[17] Barbi adds to the Rime written in exile the impressive
political sonnet, yearning for justice and peace, Se vedi li docchi
miei di pianger vaghi (of which the attribution to Dante has
sometimes been questioned), and the sonnet on Lisetta, Per
quella via che la bellezza corre, a beautiful piece of
unquestionable authenticity, but which may, perhaps, belong to an
earlier epoch in the poet’s life.
[18] But cf. Wicksteed, From Vita Nuova to Paradiso, pp. 93-
121.
CHAPTER III
DANTE’S LATIN WORKS
1. The “De Vulgari Eloquentia”
In the first treatise of the Convivio (i. 5), Dante announces his
intention of making a book upon Volgare Eloquenza, artistic
utterance in the vernacular. Like the Convivio, the De Vulgari
Eloquentia remains incomplete; only two books, instead of four, were
written, and of these the second is not finished. In the first book the
poet seeks the highest form of the vernacular, a perfect and imperial
Italian language, to rule in unity and concord over all the dialects, as
the Roman Empire over all the nations; in the second book he was
proceeding to show how this illustrious vulgar tongue should be used
for the art of poetry. Villani’s description of the work applies only to
the first book: “Here, in strong and ornate Latin, and with fair
reasons, he reproves all the dialects of Italy”; Boccaccio’s mainly to
the second: “A little book in Latin prose, in which he intended to give
instruction, to whoso would receive it, concerning composition in
rhyme.”[19]
Book I.—At the outset Dante strikes a slightly different note from
that of the Convivio, by boldly asserting that vernacular in general
(as the natural speech of man) is nobler than “grammar,” literary
languages like Latin or Greek, which he regards as artificially formed
(V. E. i. 1). To discover the noblest form of the Italian vernacular, the
poet starts from the very origin of language itself. To man alone of
creatures has the intercourse of speech been given: speech, the
rational and sensible sign needed for the intercommunication of
ideas. Adam and his descendants spoke Hebrew until the confusion
of Babel (cf. the totally different theory in Par. xxvi. 124), after which
this sacred speech remained only with the children of Heber (i. 2-7).
From this point onwards the work becomes amazingly modern. Of
the threefold language brought to Europe after the dispersion, the
southernmost idiom has varied into three forms of vernacular speech
—the language of those who in affirmation say oc (Spanish and
Provençal), the language of oil (French), the language of sì (Italian).
[20] And this Italian vulgar tongue has itself varied into a number of
dialects, of which Dante distinguishes fourteen groups, none of
which represent the illustrious Italian language which he is seeking.
“He attacks,” wrote Mazzini, “all the Italian dialects, but it is because
he intends to found a language common to all Italy, to create a form
worthy of representing the national idea.” The Roman is worst of all
(i. 11). A certain ideal language was indeed employed by the poets
at the Sicilian court of Frederick and Manfred, but it was not the
Sicilian dialect (i. 12). The Tuscans speak a degraded vernacular,
although Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni and another Florentine
(Dante himself), and Cino da Pistoia have recognised the excellence
of the ideal vulgar tongue (i. 13). Bologna alone has a “locution
tempered to a laudable suavity”; but which, nevertheless, cannot be
the ideal language, or Guido Guinizelli and other Bolognese poets
would not have written their poems in a form of speech quite
different from the special dialect of their city (i. 15). “The illustrious,
cardinal, courtly, and curial vulgar tongue in Italy is that which
belongs to every Italian city, and yet seems to belong to none, and
by which all the local dialects of the Italians are measured, weighed,
and compared” (i. 16). This is that ideal Italian which has been
artistically developed by Cino and his friend (Dante himself) in their
canzoni, and which makes its familiars so glorious that “in the
sweetness of this glory we cast our exile behind our back” (V. E. i.
17). Such should be the language of the imperial Italian court of
justice, and, although as far as Italy is concerned there is no prince,
and that court is scattered in body, its members are united by the
gracious light of reason (i. 18). This standard language belongs to
the whole of Italy, and is called the Italian vernacular (latinum
vulgare); “for this has been used by the illustrious writers who have
written poetry in the vernacular throughout Italy, as Sicilians,
Apulians, Tuscans, natives of Romagna, and men of both the
Marches” (i. 19).

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