“The Father of Modern Marketing” and “The World’s Foremost Expert on the Strategic Practice Of Marketing” – PROF. PHILIP KOTLER – presented a most insightful live webinar session on the topic “COVID Impact: Marketing Strategies for New Normal” for PGDM students & aspirants of Asian Business School (ABS) on Saturday, 26th September 2020 at 4:30 pm (IST) under its “Leadership & Entrepreneurial Aspiration Development (LEAD) Program”.
Prof. Philip Kotler (born 27 May 1931) is an American marketing author, consultant, and professor; the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (1962-2018). He is the one who gave the definition of “marketing mix”. He is the author of over 80 books, including Marketing Management, Principles of Marketing, Kotler on Marketing, Marketing Insights from A to Z, Marketing 4.0, Marketing Places, Marketing of Nations, Chaotics, Market Your Way to Growth, Winning Global Markets, Strategic Marketing for Health Care Organizations, Social Marketing, Social Media Marketing, My Adventures in Marketing, Up and Out of Poverty, and Winning at Innovation. Kotler describes strategic marketing as serving as “the link between society’s needs and its pattern of industrial response.”
Prof. Kotler helped create the field of social marketing that focuses on helping individuals and groups modify their behaviours toward healthier and safer living styles. He also created the concept of “demarketing” to aid in the task of reducing the level of demand. He also developed the concepts of “prosumers,” “atmospherics,” and “societal marketing.”
Professor Kotler was the first recipient of the American Marketing Association’s (AMA) “Distinguished Marketing Educator Award” (1985). The European Association of Marketing Consultants and Sales Trainers awarded Kotler their prize for “Marketing Excellence”. He was chosen as the “Leader in Marketing Thought” by the Academic Members of the AMA in a 1975 survey. He also received the 1978 “Paul Converse Award” of the AMA, honouring his original contribution to marketing. In 1989, he received the Annual Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award. In 1995, the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) named him “Marketer of the Year.” In 2011, he was given the title of being a Legend in Marketing; in 2012, he was #1 on the Management A-List of Academics; in 2013 he became the first recipient of the William L. Wilkie American Marketing Association Foundation’s “Marketing for a Better World” Award for significant contributions to marketing theory and practice; also in 2013, he was inducted in the Management Hall of Fame; also in 2013, he became the first recipient of the Sheth Foundation Medal for Exceptional Contribution to Marketing Scholarship and Practice.
Professor Kotler has consulted for such companies as IBM, General Electric, AT&T, Honeywell, Bank of America, Merck and others in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organization and international marketing.
He has been Chairman of the College of Marketing of the Institute of Management Sciences, a Director of the American Marketing Association, a Trustee of the Marketing Science Institute, a Director of the MAC Group, a former member of the Yankelovich Advisory Board, and a member of the Copernicus Advisory Board. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Member of the Advisory Board of the Drucker Foundation. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from the Stockholm University, University of Zurich, Athens University of Economics and Business, DePaul University, the Cracow School of Business and Economics, Groupe H.E.C. in Paris, the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Budapest University of Economic Science and Public Administration, and the Catholic University of Santo Domingo.
He has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and South America, advising and lecturing to many companies about how to apply sound economic and marketing science principles to increase their competitiveness. He has also advised governments on how to develop and position the skill sets and resources of their companies for global competition.
An initiative of Asian Education Group (AEG) – considered as the largest centre for professional media, IT, law, management, fashion & hospitality education in Asia with world-class facilities – this webinar was organized by Asian Business School (ABS) ) – which is a constituent group college of Asian Education Group and is ranked as one of the best B-schools in Delhi NCR – for all PGDM/MBA students & aspirants. Since this webinar was a closed session, students were required to register for the same. The webinar was followed by a lively Q&A Session with the illustrious guest.
The eager session commenced with a welcome note, followed by a brief but highly impressive introduction of the illustrious guest by Ms Garima Malhotra on behalf of the AEG family. Thereafter, Prof. Philip Kotler took the virtual centre stage, all the way from his residence in New York, USA!
Extending his warm greetings to all students, Prof. Philip Kotler began his talk by reminiscing about his visit to India years ago for some academic research work, when he spent about 9 wonderful months here along with his wife and made many friends and associates. He proudly avowed being “always a friend of India”.
Thereafter, Prof. Philip Kotler got on to the topic of the webinar – viz., “COVID Impact: Marketing Strategies for New Normal” – and termed the “terrible” COVID-19 pandemic as one of the “Major Wicked Problems Facing Humankind” (along with Economic slowdown, Growing income inequality, Climate change & a warming planet, Racial & ethnic injustice, Capitalism mostly benefitting a few, and Democratic institutions under siege) that is severely impacting the world in myriad ways.
Proceeding by way of a powerful PPT presentation, the highly acclaimed and erudite speaker talked at length and in great detail on specific aspects like “COVID-19’s Impact”, “How Countries Responded”, “How Consumers are Changing”, “New Consumer Behaviour Groups”, “Initial Business Responses to COVID-19”, “How Businesses Make Further Changes?”, “How Fast will Consumers Respond to Reopening?”, “Recovery Rates for Different Industries”, “Why Companies Need To Re-Assess Their Marketing Model?”, “How Pandemic Exposed Weaknesses in Many Economies?”, “Major New Themes in Marketing”, “V-Shape Recovery is Unlikely!”, “U-Shaped Recovery More Probable”, and “How will Capitalism be Affected?”
Deliberating with great scholarship and authority about the pandemic’s impact in the domain of “Marketing”, the most learned and illustrious guest speaker enumerated Five Conclusions – viz., (i) Most industrious will recover, but at very different rates; (ii) More businesses will adopt Stakeholder Capitalism & Social Responsibility; (iii) Economic recovery to full employment will take between 2 to 4 years; (iv) Legislators need to fix their nation’s health, education and social assistance systems; and (v) COVID-19 has accelerated the speed of growth of the digital economy.
Prof. Philip Kotler then opened the session for questions from the ABS PGDM students & aspirants. A series of questions related to marketing, advertising and branding were put up by the students as well as an ABS faculty member to which the highly learned and distinguished speaker provided the most convincing answers.
Towards the end, in his message for the ABS students, Prof. Philip Kotler shared some golden words of wisdom and said, “Find your passion. Think about what impact you wish to make on people and society at large. It could be a big or small impact, but it will be a pleasure for you to know more about something and make things perfect in your mind.”
Once done, Prof. Philip Kotler was presented with a glittering “Memento” on behalf of the Asian Education Group, which was profusely appreciated by the honourable guest.
With this, this most insightful session with “the father of modern marketing” and “the world’s foremost expert on the strategic practise of marketing” – PROF. PHILIP KOTLER – came to a fitting end!