Editorial

Citation

McAuley, A. (1999), "Editorial", Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 5 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmpams.1999.15505caa.001

Editorial

What colour is this place?

Not the sort of question one would expect to be asked but then again that does not mean that you could not at least attempt an answer to the question. Many years ago (more than I care to remember sometimes!), while a student of geography, I was faced with the question "What time is this space?". At first I thought there was only one time, the present, but then on reflection there clearly could also be a past time and a future time. In fact you could not think of a future time without finding yourself there and already the future was the past. The relativity of time is a great preoccupation for people in this last year of the twentieth century as many prepare to celebrate the millennium. On the other hand, some suggest that the new century does not begin until 2001. This, of course, ignores the fact that time itself is a relative concept. What we choose to call something is all rather arbitrary. I rather liked Mr Polly from H.G. Wells' History of Mr Polly who, particularly when stressed, called objects or people by a different name or by entirely made up names.

Like Mr Polly, consumers each have their own internal world which shapes their behaviour, including their purchasing decisions. Part of the job of the marketer is to attempt to understand the structure of this world and to seek to influence it. The two papers in this issue are relevant to this task. Grossman and Wisenblit consider the influence of colour on consumers' choices. By understanding the nature of this influence the practitioner can develop colour associations as part of the relationship building process with the customer. The authors suggest that research into this area is still in its infancy and clearly there are opportunities for crossing inter-disciplinary boundaries, e.g. with human sciences such as psychology.

The paper by Thompson and Panayiotopoulos presents an application of the theory of reasoned action in attempting to understand the purchasing intention of dairy farmers. By analysing the purchase decisions, such information has the potential to inform the positioning and communication strategies of suppliers to the farming industry. Getting closer to the consumer is important but what research methods can be used?

Andrew McAuleyUniversity of Stirling