Thoroughly revised and updated, MARKETING STRATEGY, 4e continues with one primary goal: to teach students to think and act like marketers. Packed with cutting-edge coverage, current examples, new cases, and--for the first time--photographs, the fourth edition delivers a practical, straightforward approach to analyzing, planning, and implementing marketing strategies--helping students learn to develop a customer-oriented market strategy and market plan. Students sharpen their analytical and creative critical thinking skills as they learn the key concepts and tools of marketing strategy. The book's focus is based on the creative process involved in applying marketing knowledge to developing and implementing marketing strategy. It includes a comprehensive planning framework and myriad examples for effectively developing and executing marketing plans. The authors stress the integration and coordination of marketing decisions with other functional business decisions as the key to achieving an organization's overall mission and vision. They also emphasize the need for integrity in the strategic planning process. Reflecting the textbook's most aggressive case revision program to date, the fourth edition includes several all-new cases written specifically for the text, outside cases from Harvard Business School, and favorite cases that are updated and rewritten with a new focus, giving students the opportunity to work on a range of challenges from a variety of organizations, including USA Today, Gillette, Mattel, Blockbuster, Mobile ESPN, Best Buy, IKEA, G.I. Joe, TiVo, Adidas, and more. Countless examples of successful planning and implementation illustrate how firms face the challenges of marketing strategy in today's economy. Continuing in the text's signature student-friendly style, the fourth edition covers essential points without getting bogged down in industry jargon--all in a succinct 12 chapters.

Stressing both analytical and creative critical thinking, Ferrell (University of New Mexico) and Hartline (Florida State University) offer a text for marketing students which approaches marketing strategy from both traditional and "cutting-edge" perspectives. Emphasis is on the practical rather than on highly academic material, with 20 real-life, in-depth cases, many new to this fourth edition. Each chapter includes two new boxed features on current marketing practices, covering topics such as social networking, podcasting, and media fragmentation. B&w photos are also a new feature for this edition. At the undergraduate level, the text can be used for a capstone course or for an upper-level course in marketing management or marketing policy. At the graduate level, the text is appropriate for courses addressing strategic marketing planning, competitive marketing strategies, or as a supplement for a simulation-based course. The text can also be used in corporate training. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

O. C. Ferrell (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is Professor of Marketing and Creative Enterprise Scholar at the Anderson Schools of Management at the University of New Mexico. He recently served as the Bill Daniels Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Wyoming and was previously Chair of the Marketing Department at Colorado State University. Dr. Ferrell is past president of the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association and former chair of the American Marketing Association Ethics Committee. Dr. Ferrell has served as an expert witness in many high-profile civil litigation cases related to marketing ethics. More recently he has assisted organizations and worked with state regulatory agencies in modifying marketing programs to maintain compliance with both ethical and legal requirements.Michael D. Hartline (Ph.D., The University of Memphis) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Marketing Department in the College of Business at Florida State University. Prior to joining the FSU faculty in 2001, Dr. Hartline taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Louisiana State University, and Samford University. His MBA and B.S. degrees are from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Dr. Hartline has taught many different courses, but primarily teaches the MBA course in Marketing Strategy and undergraduate courses in Services Marketing and Service Operations Management. He has won many teaching and research awards and has made many presentations to industry and academic audiences. Dr. Hartline's research focus addresses marketing implementation issues in service firms, especially issues related to managing customer-contact employees. His research appears in the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Service Research, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Services Marketing, the Cornell Quarterly, the Journal of Relationship Marketing, the Journal of Strategic Marketing, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Marketing Science Institute Working Paper Series. Dr. Hartline and his wife Marsha live in Tallahassee with their daughters, Meghan, Madison, and Mallory.

1. Marketing in Today's Economy. 2. Strategic Marketing Planning. 3. Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility in Strategic Planning. 4. Collecting and Analyzing Marketing Information. 5. Developing Competitive Advantage and Strategic Focus. 6. Customers, Segmentation, and Target Marketing. 7. Product Strategy. 8. Pricing Strategy. 9. Distribution and Supply Chain Management. 10. Integrated Marketing Communication. 11. Marketing Implementation and Control. 12. Developing and Maintaining Long-Term Customer Relationships. Cases. Appendix A: Marketing Plan Worksheets. Appendix B: Sample Marketing Plan (VirPharm, Inc.). Endnotes. Company and Brand Index. Name Index. Subject Index.