BEHIND the development of brand identities, awareness campaigns and segmentation there lies a core issue which is not getting any better with the passage of time.

The problem is that the marketing managers of today are refusing to take responsibility of sales and are distancing themselves from sales figures.

Selling has always been the core function of business at all times, whether it revolves around building long-term customer relations or just one-off transaction-based sale.

The excessive competitive nature of the post-industrial era has seen considerable rise in the demand of certain techniques that can help in targeting the market. In other words, develop products into brands, matching the lifestyle, identity and preferences of the consumer.

The promotion of campaigns to achieve these objectives gave an important role to advertising agencies too, making use of the creative talent of artists and copywriters, utilising various types of print and electronic media and maintaining substantial marketing budgets.

Retrospectively, the last three years have seen the middle and lower income group in the developing world moving away from self-concept at a pace. Priorities have changed like never before.

Today, brands are desperate for instant boost in sales, and they are forced to utilise traditional methods of sales promotions such as reduction in prices, clearance sale, buy one get one free, etc., instead of conventional marketing methods such as building brand associations with consumers while taking into account their self-concept, preferences and lifestyle.

Conclusively, some questions come to mind: how long will academics and practitioners take to effectively integrate marketing function with sales targets and sales performance?

When will marketers start to emphasise on measurable data and tangible facts since the traditional marketing methods do not seem to be working too well under the current circumstances?

MENAHIL ATTA Lahore