Not according to the American Marketing Association. Their definition - which is used as the textbook definition of marketing - goes like this: "Marketing is t

Not according to the American Marketing Association. Their definition - which is used as the textbook definition of marketing - goes like this: "Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." Marketing is _not_ simply about communicating the value of products. Advertising something that doesn't help a customer create or experience value is not marketing. I think you'd find this article and the comments interesting: http://avc.com/2011/02/marketing/ http://avc.com/2011/02/marketing/