Marketing lost one of its pioneers when E. Jerome Jerry McCarthy passed away at his home in East Lansing, Michigan, in 2015. All marketing instructors owe Jerry McCarthy a great debt of gratitude. Jerry was a pioneer in marketing and wrote the predecessor to this title, Basic Marketing, and the first few editions of Essentials of Marketing. He popularized the 4 Ps approach to managerial marketing management. Because of the impact he had in marketing and this title specifically, we dedicate this 18th edition to him in honor of his memory. After earning a PhD at the University of Minnesota, Dr. McCarthy joined the faculty at Notre Dame and became a Fellow in the prestigious Ford Foundation Program at Harvard, an experience that focused on how to make marketing management practice more rigorous and shaped his thoughts on the needs of students and educators. Dr. McCarthy spent most of his career at Michigan State University, gaining a reputation for working with passion and purpose. He received the AMAs Trailblazer Award in 1987 and was voted one of the top five leaders in marketing thought by marketing educators. Dr. McCarthy was well known for his innovative teaching materials and texts, including Basic Marketing and Essentials of Marketing. These books changed the way marketing was taught by taking a managerial point of view. He also introduced a marketing strategy planning framework, organizing marketing decisions around the Four PsProduct, Place, Promotion and Price. As these approaches became the standard in other texts, Dr. McCarthy continued to innovate, including new materials in the digital realm. Todays marketing instructors owe a great debt to this innovative pioneer.
