Introducing: A History of Marketing

A podcast exploring the untold stories of how marketing evolved through conversations with marketing leaders, professors, authors, and historians - including Philip Kotler, David Aaker, Guy Kawasaki, Jagdish Sheth, V. Kumar, Shelley Spector, and more.

Hosted by Andrew Mitrak

marketinghistory.org

Transcript:

Imagine this. The year is 1900. You pick up a copy of the Webster’s English dictionary. You search for the word "marketing."

You don’t find it. That’s because it’s not there yet.

Flash forward to 2025 and you log in to LinkedIn. You search for "marketing." You’ll find more than 9 million marketers on the platform.

What happened? When did Marketing become a job people do every day?

Why is Marketing History Overlooked?

My name is Andrew Mitrak, and I’m one of those 9 million marketers. I've led marketing for a few startups. I founded and sold a marketing agency, and now I work as a marketer at one of the biggest companies on the planet.

But I have a confession to make.

I know shockingly little about the history of marketing. And my guess is I’m not alone.

Think about it. If you study economics, you learn about Adam Smith.

Study computer programming and you’ll hear about Ada Lovelace.

Physics? Isaac Newton.

Biology? Darwin.

In most disciplines you learn about the people, the theories, and the milestones that shape the field over time.

But not so much in marketing. When I was in school, we jumped straight to the strategies and tactics used today

But who were the pioneers? What were the big breakthroughs? And when did people start calling themselves thought leaders?

I have lots of questions. So I looked for answers.

First I looked for a book about the history of marketing. But I didn’t find what I was looking for.

There are books for academics, biographies of advertising professionals, and a lot of books about marketing strategy today, and marketing in the future, but there’s little about marketing’s past.

Phil Kotler: “The Father of Modern Marketing”

I started my adventure into marketing history and I emailed Dr. Philip Kotler.

Phil is a living legend. He literally wrote the book on marketing management.

Philip Kotler: Thank you for inviting me. I'm always excited to talk about the history of marketing and it where it's going.

Marketing was common sense, but finance was science.

Along comes my 1967 book that says marketing also has science to it.

My book gave prestige to marketing.

And after we talked, Phil introduced me to his colleagues.

Connecting with Marketing Legends

George Day: “I'm delighted to be able to share my story.”

Jagdish Sheth: “Having a different perspective became an asset for me.”

David Aaker: “The idea that brand is an asset, and there's brand equity and you can build it, changed everything.”

Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with historians, biographers, museum founders, agency leaders, and former CEOs and CMOs. I’ve learned a bunch and felt super inspired.

V. Kumar: “Advertising has got three objectives: inform, persuade, and remind.”

Guy Kawasaki: “It is not about you. It is about them… You gotta work backward from the customer, not forward from what you want to do.”

Marketers are great storytellers. So these conversations are a lot of fun.

Larry Tye: “He was the most dazzling figure in the history of public relations.”

Shelley Spector: “It wasn't just PR that he did. I mean he was a part of history.”

Mark Tungate: “I was interested in advertising history, so I thought, ‘Maybe it's me that should do this.’"

And now, I want to share these conversations with you.

Introducing "A History of Marketing" Podcast

Introducing A History of Marketing, a podcast that explores the untold story of how marketing evolved.

Join me as we uncover the hidden history of the brands, the campaigns, and the brilliant minds that shaped the way we buy, sell, and market today.

Philip Kotler: “Marketing may undergo another revolution. I'm waiting for it to happen. I want to be in on it, too.”

Guy Kawasaki: “The very fact that I'm mentioned in a podcast with Philip Kotler with someone like Philip Kotler... I've arrived.”

Visit marketinghistory.org to get new episodes delivered right to your inbox, or subscribe to "A History of Marketing" wherever you get your podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketinghistory.org