Manitoba’s Open Textbooks

Q: Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased

The text identifies copyright date of 2011. However, no content has been updated since 2000.

Therefore the book has no mention of Facebook, Twitter, or social media in general.

Two proofreaders were credited in the frontispiece, but there are several spelling errors throughout the book.

Some unfortunate word/phrase choices: e.g. "the elderly market (age 65 and over)".

Discussion of Family Life Cycle is the outdated, traditional model; does not include blended families, adult singles, etc.

Many brands and companies mentioned no longer exist: e.g. Nissan Prairie Joy.

Content Accuracy Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement

Content is not up to date. Text is obsolete. Copyright date in Open Text is 2011, but no information has been updated since 2000. Reference sources are necessarily even more outdated.

The text has no inclusion of Facebook, Twitter or social media in general. Therefore, there is no discussion of how to incorporate social media into marketing mix. Communication process is described as a 2-way process, not interactive.

Text includes several examples of websites, brands and companies which no longer exist.

Photo graphics are primarily black-and-white, poor quality screen grabs from ca. 2000. Charts are very basic grids which are unappealing to the eye.

Text refers to companion website 'Interactive Journal' which appears to be no longer available. Several links to websites appear to be no longer available.

Very difficult to update the text without a complete re-write.

Relevance Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used

Text is written in conversational style, and adequately discusses jargon and technical terminology. Glossary included at end of each chapter.

Marketing Mix of 4Ps not included in book.

Many sentences in each chapter are very long; at least 30 words per sentence, some sentences exceeding 40 words.

Information seems to be massed together, rather than set out through headings and sub-headings, making visual identification of key points more difficult.

A great deal of prose; very few illustrations or photos. Illustrations and photos only black/white, often with outdated content.

Book does not have adequate current information.

Clarity Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

The book consists of 10 chapters:
1. Introducing marketing
2. Understanding and approaching the market
3. Marketing research: an aid to decision making
4. Understanding buyer behavior
5. External considerations in marketing
6. Marketing in global markets
7. Introducing and managing the product
8. Communicating to mass markets
9. Pricing the product
10. Channel concepts: distributing the product

Most chapters are under 30 pages; Chapter 8 has 42 pages.

Last four chapters cover the 4 Ps (although not identified as '4 Ps': Product, Promotion, Price and Place. The 4Ps concept is often presented earlier in the book in comparable marketing texts.

Consistency Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

Not easily divisible. Each chapter is composed of large blocks of text without sufficient headings and subheadings to identify sections.

Review questions at end of each chapter are indicated by '>', not numbers. Therefore, it would be difficult to discuss, assign or differentiate questions.

Modularity Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion

The topics are presented in a logical fashion, and chapters could be switched around to suit the user.

Many chapters provide information overload due use of long sentences and long paragraphs. Many examples in each chapter of sentences with 30+ words per sentence. Chapters could use more headings and subheadings to break up blocks of prose.

The 4 Ps (product, place, promotion and product) are not presented as a concept. Those four topics are presented at the end of the text, rather than earlier in the book. The 4 Ps is a cornerstone of most modern marketing textbooks.

Organization Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader

The text apparently had (at one time) a companion website and/or online journal, "your Interactive Journal".

Many live links to websites do not work, or the website or web page is no longer available.

Charts are basic square boxes, not adjusted for size of lettering or content of each box. Information becomes lost by presentation of type in large boxes with too much white space.

Black-and-white screen grab illustrations are poor quality, and therefore easily overlooked.

Interface Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text contains no grammatical errors

Each chapter in the text has many sentences with over 30 words; sometimes 40+ words.

Paragraphs are often overly long.

Text would be improved with more headings and sub-headings within the chapters.

A few spelling errors in each chapter.

Grammar Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds

Very few references to culture, including race, ethnicity or background.

Text would probably be viewed as exclusionary rather than inclusive.

Cultural Relevance Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made?

Content severely outdated, with no updates since 2000. Needs complete overhaul.

Negligible reference to Canada or Canadian business.

Outdated references to available technology. No inclusion of interactivity, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram. No inclusion of social media strategies in Marketing.

Q: Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased

The content is not always accurate - most notably where there are links to external resources.

For example, on page 30 the text has a hyperlink to the Wall Street Journal. Before and after this link the text makes reference to specific characteristics of the wsj.com www site, such as there being 5 major areas of the newspaper. However, the wsj.com www site now has 12 different sections of its paper.

I also feel the content is heavily biased towards a US student. There are minimal, if any, references to non-US based organizations or market characteristics.

Content Accuracy Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement

The age of the text is one of its most noticeable deficiencies.

For example, the first references in the text allude to the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death "20 years ago." This is a very noticeable distraction from the text content.

Additionally, the age of the text is almost a significant deficiency when discussing market research methodology's. This text would not provide students with an up-to-date understanding of how much market research is done - with the aid of information technology. Internet searches, are, for example, an inexpensive and efficient way to gain a basic understanding of potential competitors in any given geography.

This is also evident in Chapter 5, "External Considerations in Marketing" where references to both less well-known companies and brands and outdated technology are made. These characteristics would, I believe, distract from the readers ability to clearly understand the text content. More recent and well-known examples would, on the other hand, be much more effective and easier for readers to comprehend.

Relevance Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used

Yes, the language is good. The style of writing, and diction, are easy to understand and follow.

Clarity Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

Yes, the text is characterized by the same framework for each chapter. The chapters each contact a blend of:
cases
glossary
content introduction

Consistency Rating: 5 out of 5

Q: The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

Yes, the text does lend itself to being worked through by students in a series of sequential and logical steps. In particular, the text does work through the marketing process albeit with this authors own "twist".

As alluded to earlier, however, I do not believe he addresses all of the topics effectively. For example, branding and positioning and not sufficiently discussed.

Modularity Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion

Yes, the topics are presented in a logical and clear fashion.

In particular, from the Table of Contents and throughout the book the reader is easily able to follow the development of marketing concepts. The use of "Learning Objectives" at the beginning of the individual Chapters also contributes to this.

Organization Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader

There are some interface errors. For example, on page 44, the image is overlapping the text. The image is not sized correctly.

Interface Rating: 5 out of 5

Q: The text contains no grammatical errors

There were no grammatical errors evident in the text.

Grammar Rating: 5 out of 5

Q: The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds

Yes, the text is not insensitive or offensive to different cultures. In my review yesterday and today of the text I saw no references that could be negatively interpreted.

Cultural Relevance Rating: 5 out of 5

Q: Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made?

Yes, I have a number of summary observations.

Firstly, as alluded to earlier, this book has minimal - if any - Canadian content. I feel this text is therefore not suitable for Canadian contexts.

Secondly, this book suffers from being old - the examples it uses in the final chapters when discussing the marketing mix, for example are noticeably outdated. In particular the texts coverage of concepts surrounding the development of new products, marketing communications, distribution, and pricing, are based on market conditions from 1999-2000. Most noticeably, this text lacks sufficient reference to the way the internet has changed consumer behavior (the www is a common way consumer learn about product choices and pricing for example), market behavior (the way brands and organizations respond to changes in the market), and organizational behavior (how brands advertise, price, and distribute their products /services are all highly influenced by the www).

Thirdly, text is deficient in any discussion of sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. Macro international trends, in these areas are not discussed (due to the texts age. As such, the text does not offer an up-to-date analysis of how consumer behavior has changed, and similarly how corporate behavior is also changing.

Q: Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased

This textbook has 10 chapters which does cover the essential marketing knowledge and skills. It did cover the global marketing issue and students will get advantages when they start working in the industry.

Content Accuracy Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement

Although there are 10 chapters in this textbook, it should be easy for college instructor to fit into college student's time table. However, there should be a video to support case study or case application in this textbook.

Relevance Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used

After reviewed this textbook, I found that the author has a lot of experience in teaching or working in marketing filed. However, there seems too much information and detail in each chapter which may make the college students felt overwhelmed when learning the basic marketing ideas. When compared to other marketing textbooks, the writing style of this text is not easy to follow for college students and there should be more reminders for explanation of key marketing terms.

Clarity Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

I did find the author did connect the overall marketing concepts quite well.

Consistency Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

This might be a bit problem of this textbook. Although the text can be separated in different sections, the connection between main heading and subheading has been not that clear divided. For example, the author mentioned that the consumers can be segmented by different factors in the following discussion on page 42. If the author can briefly mention what are the main factors to segment the consumers at the beginning, I think students can have this bigger picture in their minds when learning about how to targeting on specific customers.

Modularity Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion

The topics in the text are clearly structured but the 'case study' in each chapter should be marked in order for reading purpose.

Organization Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader

There are some charts or tables may confuse to the readers because they can not be understood easily by just reading it. When the readers use these charts and tables, they should understand the meaning of these charts immediately even without the explanations. For example, the Exhibition 3 in Chapter 2 (p#42) is confusing to the reader especially it is placed next to the Capsule 4 table. Also, the table is needed in Chapter 6 when discussing the factors that influence on the international marketing environment in order to help the readers what are the main or minor factors when entering into the foreign market.

Interface Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text contains no grammatical errors

I do not find any grammatical problems when reviewing this text.

Grammar Rating: 5 out of 5

Q: The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds

I did not find any offensive issue in the cultural part when I was reading it. On the other hand, I would like to encourage the author to provide more examples in cultural differences when implement the marketing strategies in the foreign market when discussing the global marketing environment in Chapter 6 or marketing mix chapters.

Cultural Relevance Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made?

I think the text should focus more on the Canadian students’ needs, for example, the case study could use Canadian products or companies to illustrate the marketing topics. I like the authors did consider the importance of global marketing in Canadian market, however, the author did not stress strong enough the importance of marketing in Canadian market. I would recommend the author to use QR codes because it increasingly being used as part of marketing strategy, and have begun to appear in textbooks to link students to ads, videos, and other resources.

Q: Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased

There are some minor inaccuracies in the text, mainly related to the fact that the text is quite dated. These include the following: • Page 17 definition of “Marketing Myopia” different from conventional literature, I believe.
• Suggest description of B2B on page 24 also includes Resellers
• Chapter 2, Exhibit 2: Approaches to Market is vague, particularly on the right side, and students may not understand the point
• Page 46 case study no longer accurate; Amazon does have ethnic books section
• Patent duration (17 years) on page 181 no longer accurate
• Page 227: Modern descriptions of the Sales Process often include the Approach step after Pre-Approach
• Page 246: “everyday low prices (ELP)” – now referred to as EDLP

Content Accuracy Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement

This text is very dated. Case studies and examples do not date beyond the year 2000. A significant effort would be required to update the text. Below is a list of examples of dated content that risks making the content feel irrelevant to students. A

o Armanprout Design example from 1999
o 1999 Toyota market research example
o Harley Davidson 1989
o “With downsizing and other cost-cutting activities prevalent during the 1990s”
o Sources/citations from 2000 and earlier
o Very dated ads
o Page 34: “Online advertising is still a relatively tiny market” and the subsequent two paragraphs about web traffic counting platforms
o Page 67: “Thanks to computer technology…”
o Page 115: “In 1978, about 14 per cent of all passengers had to change airlines to reach their destination; by 1995, this number fell to about 1 per cent.”
o Harris Poll exhibit 14 from 2000

• Term “World Wide Web” is quite dated; recommend that author replaces with “Internet”. Same for “dot-com company”.
• The initial Elvis example will date, as his death pushes beyond 20 years
• It may be worth replacing the AMA definition for marketing on page 10 to the 2013 version
• Page 74, dated projection: “Data-mining in itself is a relatively tiny market: sales of such programs will grow to maybe USD 750 million by 2001.”
• Generational discussions:
o Page 81: “As noted, many of the parents of today's kids are the baby boomers marketers have been tracking for over 40 years.”
• Kids are hooked online Info Box on page 85 – dated facts
• Page 92: “Do you ever wonder why Pepsi used Shaquille O'Neal in their advertisements?”
• Page 103: “The 2010s will be the "Linked Decade” – OK for now
• Electric car case that starts Chapter 5 requires updating
• Page 112: Blockbuster Video reference
• Newsline regarding economy on page 120 obsolete
• Page 122 reference to Palm handheld device
• Page 123 boxed article about online attitudes very dated
• Page 125 demongraphic stats very dated, e.g. US population
• Page 127 “baby boomlet” birth years described as, “This group spans 1975 to the present”
• European Union description page 152
• Japanese car market beginning chapter 7
• Banner advertising page 213
• Fax machines as a sales tool: “Fax casually. When you are flooded with faxes, forget about taking the time to send replies on new sheets of paper and fill out cover sheets. Instead, simply hand-write your replies at the bottom of the fax you received and turn it around.” Page 231.
• McDonald’s stats and pricing: page 237
• Page 251: “Candy bars now cost 60 cents or more, a customary price for a standard-sized bar.”
• Walmart stats: page 262
• Retail store stats: page 270
• Page 272: “Today, more than 40,000 businesses have established a home page on the Internet.”
• Page 273 box: “The death of retailing greatly exaggerated”

Relevance Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used

The text is lucid, but has two issues that will make it challenging for a first-year post-secondary student.

First, the prose is often very advanced and will not be accessible for many learners. Some example of the kind of language present:

o “wax so upbeat”
o “a changeless, ageless object of contemplation and veneration”
o “Definitions of marketing cannot flesh out specific transactions and other relationships among these elements”
o “Understanding the rudiments of marketing”
o “One of the first mistakes an organization might make is to allow the various functional areas to become proprietary.”
o “the walls of parochialism”
o “institutions tend to satisfy somewhat esoteric, often intangible, needs”
o “The most striking fact about IMC techniques is their cross-substitutability”

The test also regularly introduces technical marketing terminology without explaining it. Sometimes an explanation follows later in the text; sometimes not at all. Examples to be addressed:

o Page 15: “competitive differentiation”
o Page 16: “cues”
o Page 19: “segment its market”
o Page 24: “marketing mix”
o Page 27: “commission rate”
o Page 36: “intermediary”
o Page 39: “point-of-purchase”
o Page 41: “technical copy”
o Page 60: “marketing revolution”
o Page 111: “switching costs”
o Page 144: “tariffs”
o Page 160: “tangible”
o Page 161: “publics”

Clarity Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

Generally consistent. A couple of recommended fixes:

• Stock tickers/symbols provided for some companies cited, but not for others
• “Dumping” definition on page 151 is a repeat from an earlier mention
• Term “tariff” used on page 144 but then defined on page 152
• Page 191: "In addition, the three components of the product are discussed.”, is stated but then followed by the four components that are discussed earlier in the chapter.

Consistency Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

The text is well divided and subheadings are used effectively.

The text does self-refer frequently. References to preceding chapters and content are made throughout the text, which would make it difficult to parse.

Modularity Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion

Topics generally presented in a logical sequence, though Chapter 5 - International Marketing - may be too early in the chapter sequence.

Many topics presented clearly. Some, for various reasons, may not be clear to students:

o Chapter 3 very theoretical and dry – descriptions of the early parts of the marketing research process lack examples to make content engaging and clear. This compared to the Observation Technique example used later in the chapter, which is excellent.
o Chapter 3 gets very specific on elements of Market Research (example page 72 Sample Selection) that feels too specific for an introductory marketing text.
o The Chapter 3 description of the Marketing Research Process is quite theoretical and might benefit from a specific example that is used through the explanations of the steps – to make content more engaging and illustrative?
o Opportunity to use more visual framework aids, for example Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in Chapter 4.
o Some concepts are very advanced and may be inaccessible to average post-secondary student. For example: “IMC-harder than you think” on page 198.
o Page 66 info on Secondary Sources would really benefit from illustrative examples
o Exploration of term “new” in Products Chapter may get too detailed/esoteric for students – approx. page 177-179. I think the same can be said for the review of Communications Systems and terms on page 202.
o Target rate of return pricing explanation may be challenging for students to follow. A graph or another layout may help. Page 255.
o Exhibit 31 not explained
o Page 280: An example of a Contractual VMS would help to illustrate/explain the concept
o Same page, Horizontal MS could be updated to describe retail co-location partnerships such as Walmart and McDonald’s – page 281

Organization Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader

The PDF interface is generally clean, but has a few issues that should be addressed:

• Not clear to reader how pharma ad on page 20 relates to content
• Table on page 21 requires formatting, at least in PDF version
• Ad image on page 44 interferes with text – in PDF
• Page 44 weird formatting of word “Income” in first sentence: “Income is perhaps the most common demographic oasis for segmenting a market.” – in PDF
• Terms and definitions in the Key Terms sections at the end of the chapters is vertically jammed together – in PDF
• Exhibit 17, chapter 7, cut off on right side – in PDF
• Exhibit 20 cuts off the License title at the top of page 183 – in PDF
• What are meant as dashes in the PDF appear as hyphens without adequate spacing: “four of the IMC mix elements-advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and personal selling.”
• Table 11, page 218 is misplaced in PR section
• Minor: Page 242 bullet alignment (first bullet)

Interface Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text contains no grammatical errors

This text has a significant number of spelling, grammar and punctuation issues listed below:
• Quotation not sourced: “A textbook writer once noted, "Marketing is not easy to define. No one has yet been able to formulate a clear, concise definition that finds universal acceptance". – page 10
• Typo: “Yet a definition of some sort is necessary if we are to layout …” – should be “lay out”. – page 10
• Type page 12 and page 80: “Proctor and Gamble” – should be Procter
• Grammar on page 12: “There are literally thousands of examples of businesses—many quite small that have neither the resources nor the inclination to support an elaborate marketing organization and strategy.”
• Sentence fragment on page 12: “As opposed to the typical written mission statement that is handed down to employees from management.”
• Typo page 14: “and the Colorado's Vail Ski Resort”
• Typo page 16: “organization is accurate and as complementary as possible” – should be complimentary
• Wrong word page 17?: “Some US partners” – should be competitors?
• Grammar page 22: “they must use these monies in specific way”
• Page 24: End of this sentence requires a period: “In the case of Honda Motors, for example, it means building manufacturing plants in the US…”
• Typo page 25: “Nonmarketing institutions outside the firm facilitated the marketing process” – should be “facilitate”
• Page 26 – not sure why quotation marks used in this sentence: “"Introducing a certain number of new products usually" may lead…”
• Typo page 30: “The chapter, “Introducing marketing”, provides and overview of the importance …” – “and” should be “an”
• Grammar page 39: “Clearly, for companies that have a very large share of the market undifferentiated IT market coverage makes sense”
• Typo page 41: “able to analyze the needs and wants of only one segment and then focusing all its efforts” – focus
• Typo page 44 in the image description: “AD 2: The focus in on the pre-teen to young adult segment, assuming they will test product features at the store.”
• Typo page 44: “Income is perhaps the most common demographic oasis for segmenting a market.” – basis
• Typo page 45: “determining how long this information is necessary or effective is still any body's guess” – anybody’s
• Typo page 51: “Qualifications involves judgment.” – Qualification
• Typo page 54: “while Outside Magazine (www.outsidemag.com). clearly targets outdoor enthusiasts.” Delete the period after the URL.
• Typo page 65: “according to the design insures that”- ensures
• Typo page 66: “The second approach is the historical.” – missing word maybe? “the historical approach.”
• Typo: “Page 69: “respondent can provide” - respondents
• Typo/confusing sentence: “Computers are every—to extract significance from the blizzard of numbers, facts, and stats.”
• Typo page 83: “Whether complex 0r simple, the first step is need identificati on.” – spacing in “identification”
• Missing apostrophe, page 84: “The promotional component of the marketers offering” – marketer’s
• Page 86, comma placement: “in many cases ,will”
• Page 95: missing period after interaction: “and social interaction Modeling involves imitation…”
• Page 95, repeat sentence: “It is possible (and usual) to have needs that are latent (unstimulated) and that therefore do not serve as the motive of behavior.” The sources of this arousal may be internal (people get hungry), environmental (you see an ad for a Big Mac), or psychological (just thinking about food can cause hunger). “It is possible (and usual) to have needs that are latent (unstimulated) and that therefore do not serve as the motive of behavior.”
• Page 111: Wrong word. “Our entrepreneurs, Carol and Jane, aced several barriers to entry…” - aced
• Punctuation page 125: “entrepreneurial activities, Also, the extremely high” – period needed after “activities”
• Typo page 159: “understand the eight steps that makeup the new product development system” – make up
• Typo page 195: “Big ideas that have turned American Express in what some experts say” – “into”
• Word wrong page 199: “Historically, mass media has been characterized because of its general inability” – “by”
• Missing word page 210: “who the organization engages and gives policy” – ‘who in the’
• Missing word or punctuation page 214: “Public relations, too, is difficult to define as it deals with the ultimate intangible creating a positive image”
• Punctuation mistake; page 218: “first do good. and then take credit”
• Typo page 228: “when a presentation has been completed without any objectives from the prospect” – objectives
• Typo page 237: “In theory, McDonald's plan will payoff” – pay off
• Missing word page 251: “total price that is lower [than] if they were sold separately.”
• Punctuation, page 288: “The primary members of distribution channels are manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, Retailing is all..” – period needed

Grammar Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds

This text is very US-specific. All examples, except in International Marketing chapter are US.
There are also some company and celebrity examples that today feel inappropriate.
Specifics:
• Page 44: Concern about appropriateness of Playboy example: “Playboy recently announced the introduction of a special edition aimed at the subscribers with annual incomes over USD 45,000”.
• All company examples from chapters 1-3 are U.S.-based
• Page 80: “Multiply Alyssa by 30 million-the number of babies born in this country since 1990”
• Page 95: “Marketers can make use of this concept by employing spokespersons to endorse their products and services who have strong credibility with their target consumers, as in the case of Bill Cosby (Jell-O).” – might consider a new example, in light of recent developments with Bill Cosby?
• “The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve determines interest rates charged by banks as well as the money supply, thereby directly affecting price (especially of stocks and bonds). He is considered by many to be the most influential person in the world.” – can be, and has been, a “she”

Cultural Relevance Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made?

No. This book provides a comprehensive review of key marketing concepts, but requires 1) significant updating of real-world examples, all of which are pre-2000; 2) re-writing of some sectoins to make more accessible to make language more accessible and clear for leaner3) clean-up of spelling and grammar issues.

Q: Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased

Considering that this e-text was published in 2011, it is surprising that many of the research cited are from 1950s - early 2000's. Also, many of the examples are patriarchal and US-based. Many of the examples used are not contextually appropriate to a student born after 2000's and lives outside of the US (or is an international student).

Content Accuracy Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement

Content is quite out-dated; there are no examples post-2000 and many of the companies mentioned no longer exist, a short list of examples:
. elvis.com is now using another URL
. LL Bean's screenshot is from 2001
. many mentions of 'brochures'
. under Communication (pg. 16), there is no mention of social media
. when discussing 'community (pg. 18), no students can relate to 'newspapers' & 'gossip'
. Just say no to drugs (pg. 19) was from 1980s
. The WSJ Interactive requires a paid subscription now and may not have the same navigation as was mentioned in the text
. Billy Graham died in Feb 2018 (pg. 36)
. referring to '3rd world markets' no longer politically correct
. who would know what the reference to 'Mississippi River' refers to (pg. 43)
. numerous references to VCR, CDs, and DVDs.
. reference to Bill Cosby
. references to cigarettes/Phillip Morris ((pg. 47)

Dozens more of examples like the above--so the text needs updating anytime there are references to companies, industries, door-to-door selling and technology.

Relevance Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used

The prose is sometimes too casual (pg. 237 "humongous") and outdated (pg. 93 'beautician?), (Industrial Marketing vs. B2B marketing), also not sure what (pg. 267) routinization means. Also, as the 4P's assumes that 'Place' is also distribution, there is no mention of that in the textbook which could confuse students. Also uncertain to what 'brokers' are on Pg. 290.

Clarity Rating: 2 out of 5

Q: The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework

Generally fine, except for the following:

. confusion of terminology when referring to Industrial Markets, Organizational Marketing, B2B marketing. (pg. 45)
. on page 91, the reference to DVD, seems to need a 'player' next to it. as DVD refers to the storage device, not the player (but this is all outdated anyway!)

Consistency Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The text should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader.

There could be improvements to the formatting, utilizing shorter paragraphs, more headings & subheadings and bullet points. the text seems to be written like a novel. The text should make it easy for the student to do cross-referencing and synthesize material, which is critical in marketing.

Modularity Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion

The flow is adequately logical, but not always clear. The use of chapter titles and headings help; however it would be helpful to have more callouts, boxesand bulleted lists. The visuals (specifically the ADs) take up too much space without much point.

Suggest that Marketing Research and International Marketing come later in the text after the foundation is set: ie. Consumer Behaviour, 4 P's, Marketing Environment.

Organization Rating: 3 out of 5

Q: The text is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader

Not sure if it was my issue, but I was unable to navigate to the page via the table of contents. The images (especially website screenshots) were blurry and needed to be zoomed in order to see the detail. Colour would be a welcome addition. Many of the ADs took up too much space without any point.

Interface Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: The text contains no grammatical errors

Grammar generally fine. I only caught one spelling error: pg. 31 'industrial markers'.
Another potential error is the reference to DVD (pg. 91) when I think DVD player is more appropriate.

Grammar Rating: 4 out of 5

Q: The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds

When the book begins with the author referring to the "world's impoverished...", it doesn't bode well for the rest of the textbook. Other areas I thought were insensitive or inappropriate:

. pg.14: 'inner city church'
. Pg. 36 : Billy Graham (religion?) but he's dead now.
. pg. 36 '3rd World markets'--I believe the term now is developing markets
. anything to do with Bill Cosby (who was mentioned more than once)
. pg 193: when referring to family, using 'wife'

Overall, many examples and references to American-centric industries/culture: Elvis, mail order, door-to-door selling, auto manufacturing, SIC codes, baby boomers (who actually aren't current students' parents (Pg.78), reference to 1920s, WWII, 1970s. There is no reference to acccessibility, disability or sexual orientation. For example, the gay market is a viable target segment these days. Other than mention of African Americans, there are no references to any other minorities.

Cultural Relevance Rating: 1 out of 5

Q: Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made?

There needs to be a major update/overhaul before I could recommend it; otherwise, I would be spending too much time in class telling students to ignore this, or update this. IMHO, it seems like the author uploaded his text from 1990 and is expecting that people update it. It seems ridiculous that the text is dated 2011, and yet there are NO references or citations beyond 2000. Also shocking that there was actually a reference used from 1954. Even the opening definition of 'Marketing' from the AMA (pg. 10) is a 988 definition, even though there have been numerous updates and there is now a 2013 definition.

I can provide more page-by-page issues if the editor is interested.