Thoroughly revised and updated, Marketing Strategy, 4e" continues with one primary goal: to teach students to think and act like marketers. Packed with cutting-edge coverage, current examples, new cases, and - for the first time - photographs, the fourth edition delivers a practical, straightforward approach to analyzing, planning, and implementing marketing strategies - helping students learn to develop a customer-oriented market strategy and market plan. Students sharpen their analytical and creative critical thinking skills as they learn the key concepts and tools of marketing strategy. The book's focus is based on the creative process involved in applying marketing knowledge to developing and implementing marketing strategy. It includes a comprehensive planning framework and myriad examples for effectively developing and executing marketing plans.The authors stress the integration and coordination of marketing decisions with other functional business decisions as the key to achieving an organization's overall mission and vision. They also emphasize the need for integrity in the strategic planning process. Reflecting the textbook's most aggressive case revision program to date, the fourth edition includes several all-new cases written specifically for the text, outside cases from Harvard Business School, and favorite cases that are updated and rewritten with a new focus, giving students the opportunity to work on a range of challenges from a variety of organizations, including USA Today, Gillette, Mattel, Blockbuster, Mobile ESPN, Best Buy, IKEA, G.I. Joe, TiVo, Adidas, and more.Countless examples of successful planning and implementation illustrate how firms face the challenges of marketing strategy in today's economy. Continuing in the text's signature student-friendly style, the fourth edition covers essential points without getting bogged down in industry jargon - all in a succinct 12 chapters.