The American Marketing Association's New Definition of Marketing: Perspective and Commentary on the 2007 Revision

Abstract

In a follow-up to the fall 2007 special section of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing that examined implications of the American Marketing Association's (AMA's) 2004 definition of marketing, the authors examine the AMA's revision of its definition—the new 2007 definition of marketing. The article first describes the concerns about the 2004 offering and then traces the process taken by the AMA to consider these issues and revise the definition. The authors conclude that the new definition addresses many of the major issues with the 2004 definition that had been identified by scholars contributing to the special section. They highlight several positive qualities of the new definition and describe how these attributes have the capacity to enhance marketing scholarship and practice into the future.