The Legacy of Edmund Jerome McCarthy: Pioneer of the Marketing Mix

Edmund Jerome McCarthy (* February 20, 1928; † December 3, 2015 in East Lansing, Michigan^[1]) was an American economist, business consultant and author. He developed this in his 1960 book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach Together with William D. Perrault Jr. and JP McCann, the concept of the marketing mix, which is also known as the “four Ps in marketing”.^[2] Since its publication, the work has been one of the most important textbooks in university marketing courses.^[3]

McCarthy completed his Bachelor of Science in 1950 at Northwestern University. In 1954 he received his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. In 1958 he also completed his doctoral thesis at this university. The title of his thesis was: Analysis of the Use of Marketing Research in Product Development.^[4] McCarthy war Marketing-Professor an der Michigan State University.^[2] Is a Professor at the College of Commerce at the University of Notre Dame.^[5]

McCarthy was a member of the American Marketing Association and the Economics Society. In 1987 he received the Trailblazer Award der American Marketing Association.

Jerome McCarthy had eight children with his Joanne McCarthy. He died on December 3, 2015 in the small town of East Lansing, Michigan.^[4]

Perhaps the best-known and most important economic concept devised by McCarthy is the marketing mix, also known as the concept of the “four P’s of marketing.” The term is made up of the elements of product policy (product), pricing policy (price), distribution or sales policy (placement) and [[Kommunikationspolitik (Marketing)|Kommunikationspolitik] (promotion) together. In addition, McCarthy’s considerations are shaped by the idea that marketing policy should focus less on corporate goals and that marketing decisions should be less introspectively motivated, but rather should focus on the perspective and needs of consumers or customers.

For this reason, in the visual visualization of the four marketing instruments, there is a “C” for in the center Customer (Customer). This illustration is the first edition of his textbook Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach can be clearly seen, but is gradually neglected over the years and later reproductions of his concepts.^[6]

1. ↑ E. Jerome McCarthy. In: Lansing State Journal. December 6, 2015.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Charles Doyle: McCarthy, E Jerome. In: A Dictionary of Marketing (4 ed.). Oxford University Press, 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-873642-4 (oxfordreference.com).
3. ↑ John A. Quelch: Milestones in Marketing. S. 827–838, accessed on September 14, 2023.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Jerry McCarthy. Obituary. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
5. ↑ James B. Murphy, Public Information Director: University of Notre Dame, Department of Public Information (press releases). University of Notre Dame, March 17, 1959, accessed on September 14, 2023.
6. ↑ Prof. Dr. Karsten Kilian: McCarthy’s 4 P’s have shaped marketing for 60 years. 1 January 2020, accessed on October 12, 2023.