Philip Kotler
on the Age of Demarketing and Systemic Regeneration
A kind father nurtures, guides, and, most importantly, evolves alongside his children. He does not impose his will. Instead, he shapes a foundation from which they can grow, adapt, and find their way.
Philip Kotler, “The Father of Modern Marketing”, did exactly that. Not just for his family, but for an entire field of study.
For over half a century, he stood at the front of lecture halls, now a Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University, completely redefining marketing. He authored 100 books, and “Marketing Management” became “a bible” for marketers across the world.
Yet, for Philip, it was never about selling. The essence was understanding human nature, relationships, needs, and aspirations: “Marketing takes a day to learn. Unfortunately, it takes a lifetime to master.”
The whole world was his playground. Married to Nancy, his partner in life and learning, he explored marketing from every possible angle, as a traveller and observer of human behaviour, seeing firsthand how it can shape our future: “The art is not selling what you make, but knowing what to make.”
When marketing started going through what he called “a mid-life crisis”, he saw businesses treating consumers like numbers and advertising saturating the world. A crisis, after all, calls for reinvention: “Marketing has always been about understanding what people feel.”
An article planted a precious seed: “Why can’t you sell brotherhood like you sell soap?” The question grew into a concept Philip and Nancy Lee championed: Social Marketing: “I don’t care what happened to your profits. Have you improved your share of the customer’s mind and heart? Social marketers are marketers with a conscience who won't help companies promote destructive products.” It has the power to educate and empower people to break free from addictive habits like smoking, excessive drinking, and drug abuse.
Welcome to the Age of Demarketing!
The father of marketing did what few are brave enough to do: he called for a revolution. The one who introduced the world to the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) began speaking of something radical: “The world doesn’t need more. It needs less. Demarketing will shift entire industries toward regeneration.” Think of companies like Patagonia, who design products to last a lifetime: “If we just reverse the direction of the 4Ps, we can make the product less necessary, more expensive, less available.”
To Philip, the conversation about regeneration is not about consumption. It's about the future of democracy: “Systemic regeneration means breaking away from the existing mindset of globalization and not allowing special interests of billionaires to destroy the Common Good.”
Read Philip’s answers for Inspirators and remember: even the most established truths can evolve!
Thank you, Philip, for being a Caring Father!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Philip Kotler
Company / Institution: Northwestern University
Title: Distinguished Professor of International Marketing
Website: pkotler.org
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipkotler/
Country you currently live in: USA
Your definition of Regeneration: Regeneration is the process of improving the Common Good. Improving a place, organization, or system to a better, higher or more worthy state.
Main business challenge you face: Improving wokefulness, a state of compassionately caring about other people.
Main driver that keeps you going: The three F’s - Family, Friends, and Followers.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Optimism and hope in the face of impending doom and gloom.
The trait you most value in others: Optimism and positivism.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Writing to clarify my thinking, children and grandchildren, and comedians and humor.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
Peter Drucker, the father of management.
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Study how Paul Polman, ex-CEO of Unilever, regenerated Unilever’s tremendous success by satisfying all stakeholders, not just the investors, and rebranding the company’s mission and processes.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Sustainability must affect all company processes to reduce waste and find new uses for all resources. Company sustainability claims must be documented, or otherwise doubted.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Don’t just worry or fret by yourself. Recruit others to join you in making the world better.
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
All books by Peter Drucker where he examines the basis of great management.
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
The movie “This Promised Land” about a brave man in Denmark who wants to make barren land fertile again against the oppressive owners.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: I prefer reading excellent articles quickly to listening to podcasts.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: I'm a great fan of Beethoven for his triumphant music and of Chopin for his romantic music. I love the songs of Barbra Streisand and the Beatles.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Italy (Venice, Florence, Milan), Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto), Beijing, Indonesia (Bali), Jerusalem, Bangkok, Cairo, Capetown, India (Hyderabad, Bangalore), Sydney, Christchurch, Buenos Aires, and Sao Paulo.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
Christian Sarkar
Robert Reich
David Brooks
Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline): Women and Moms marches.
Impactful and relevant Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses or certifications: “Regeneration: The Future of Community”. I hope that more people will read “My Life as a Humanist”.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Hopefully, the concept of Common Good Capitalism will replace the concept of Extractive Capitalism.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: America under authoritarian Trump is destroying trust in the rest of the world about America’s drive to build a good world.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: We need to see the exemplary traits that Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt displayed in the White House!
The quote that inspires you:
“Live simply so that others may simply live.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
Your quote that will inspire us:
