The classic article has been read by countless business-school students and marketing professionals since it originally appeared in 1977. The model proposed at that time — which outlined how an independent entity should go about assessing an existing marketing program — was sufficiently streamlined that it holds up very well today. In their retrospective comments, the authors discuss marketing issues that have come to the forefront in the intervening years: globalization of markets, information technology, communications/promotion technology, strategic planning, more sophisticated analytical tools, and the increased attention paid to marketing throughout the organization. They close with suggestions on how to implement marketing audit recommendations.
