Rethinking the Ps of Marketing

What should a brand be thinking about?

A lot of us were taught the four Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. On a one-way street from company to shopper these made sense. The marketer owned the communication and was in the driver's seat making educated guesses or decisions about the go-to-market strategy.

But in this day and age of ubiquitous communication are these the only Ps? With people having a way to share their voice (they always had one) there are other considerations that arise.

• What promise are you making to me?
  
• Where do you position yourself in my mind?
• Does your personality match mine?

Promise, Position and Personality are the new Ps - particularly in a world where people share their aspirations and frustrations. It seems that understanding these is important to defining the original set.

Branding is about Promise, Positioning, and Personality - selling is about product, price, place and promotion.