In the middle years of this decade, I taught a Marketing course for a few years at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Back then, we taught the classic principles of marketing.

First, the planning steps:

• Identify a market opportunity
• Define your target audience
• Define your unique selling proposition and position yourself vs. the competition

Then, the execution:

• Create your messaging
• Promote it through advertising, public relations, direct mail, and special events
• Collaborate with partners to reach customers and distribute product

A bit simplified, perhaps, but that was it, in a nutshell. (Pricing figured in the mix also, but I’m going to leave that aside for this discussion).

Today, it’s a whole new ballgame. Web-based commerce, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, blogging – it appears that everything has changed. But has it, really?

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