Le Marketing is French

Although ‘marketing’ is an English (American ?) word it are the French who have been the first and maybe still the best in marketing as many things we take for granted or have been applied first in France:

- Style:
  Versailles defined how to design a palace with gardens. The world followed the style.
- Perfume:
   Selling smelly water at an incredible high price.
- Wine:
  The best wine is still French or is it the best marketing ?
- Fashion & luxury products:
  Paris is associated with them and is still the capital of fashion and luxury products.
- Père Lachaise (famous cemetery in Paris):
  Problem: people didn’t want to be buried far away from their church
  Marketing: the remains of many famous people were moved to this cemetery.
- Feuilleton in newspapers:
  To keep people buying everyday their newspaper stories were published in short parts.
  The most famous French writers have written their books in this way.
  The soap opera’s still use the same concept.
- Spring water:
   Bottling free water and selling it at a steep price.
- Statue of Liberty:
   Representing the friendship between France and US – established during the American Revolution.
   The entire world recognizes and knows it.
- Eiffel tower:
  The World Exhibition tower was a sample for the planned multiple bridges over the Seine.
- Viral marketing:
   Road marking in France by Michelin
   Goal: to have more people driving their cars into the country side and sell tires.
- Passion marketing:
   The car brand Peugeot was the first to market ‘Passion’ in design.
   Instead of performance and engineering numbers.
- Holiday destination #1:
  France is still #1 holiday destination in the world. Why? Probably marketing.

In the eighties -1981: Tomorrow I will take off my top!

The origin of marketing lies definitely in France as they have achieved many ‘firsts’.
Although they coined a word for it: “mercatique” - it hasn’t spread.