Taylor and Francis Hastings, G: The Marketing Matrix

‘Gerard Hastings’ masterful and ground breaking treatise on marketing is nothing short of a map out of the desert leading us all to Jericho. His challenge to the consumptive nature of the developed world and the unveiling of the "big lie", that the global corporate culture is working on the behalf of society, is nothing short of liberating…expect to be challenged…expect to be warned…then; expect to become hopeful…his prescription for healing is even more powerful than his diagnosis.’ James H. Lindenberger, Director, Social Marketing Group, University of South Florida, USA ‘The cowboy and robber economy is back. There are even business schools that teach students that the sole mission of business is to maximize shareholder value. Finance is everything. Branding, however hollow, is everything. In contrast the new marketing theory of the 3rd millennium puts stress on customer service and value-in-use which is in line with Gerard Hasting's thinking. He has written a daring book. He calls a spade a spade, totally contrary to what advertising and other marketing does. So the conventional marketer will hate it. If they keep reading they will find that Hastings makes sense. We need business, but a nation needs fair business, not just windfall for the few. Marketing is also a tool for creating welfare in society -- for everybody. Only then will business become efficient in the long run.’ Evert Gummesson, Emeritus Professor, Stockholm University School of Business, Sweden 'On the face of it, corporate marketing adds excitement and glamour to the most boring of everyday products and stimulates desire in the most jaded consumers. As consumers we are seduced by the power of this corporate apparatus with its seductive bargains, witty ads, myriad of choice with brand identity as the opiate of the people. As Hastings shows however, the powerful and ubiquitous behaviour change tools of modern marketing - i.e. 'the marketing matrix' - actually create a false and superficial society b