California Management Review

Abstract

Short-termism in marketing has resurfaced, fueled by big data, analytics, digital, AI, and labels such as demand marketing. Looking back at the 1980s, a short-termism decade, that era provided permission for “sales now” programs that failed to deliver growth. That approach contributed to profit erosion, turned customers’ priority to prices, encouraged ill-advised extensions, damaged brands and profits, and led to the emergence of brand equity. To avoid a repeat, CMOs need to convince others that brand equity is critical to the business strategy. To succeed, demand and brand marketing need to be partners, creating and exploiting their synergies.

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