Marketing in the Public Sector : A Roadmap for Improved Performance

Praise for Marketing in the Public Sector

“Professionally, as an academic turned politician, this book–if published a few years earlier–would have made my life much simpler. This book lays out, in detail with concrete examples, how to conduct a grand plan for change. Particularly impressive is the application of different marketing principles along each step of the transition process toward establishing an efficient service-oriented governmental agency.”

Somkid Jatusripitak, Ph.D., Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Commerce, Royal Thai Government

“This book is filled with insights for people who want to communicate effectively about government programs, but it should also be on the bookshelf of any government manager who needs to think creatively about how to improve customer service. Every page contains information and ideas that public-sector leaders can, and should, put in their management tool kits.”

Christine O. Gregoire, Governor, Washington State

“Increasingly, public sector managers have been challenged to ‘do more with less.’ Marketing in the Public Sector demonstrates that marketing is not simply another line-item expense, but rather a set of tools that help public servants allocate resources more effectively and efficiently. The book is chock-full of real-world stories of creative marketers working within diverse organizations, all of whom have come to understand that marketing is not simply advertising or persuasion, but rather a mindset.”

E. Marla Felcher, Ph.D., Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

“Kotler and Lee are teaching governments to motivate by invitation rather than intimidation. Instead of complaint and reaction, they work to create a culture of contagious cooperation that can replace rulemaking with social consensus. This is a practical manual for un-clogging hearing rooms, cooling tempers, and putting government back on the side of the people who pay for it.”

Dave Ross, CBS News Commentator

“Marketing in the Public Sector provides an excellent planning framework for public sector officers engaged in all levels of marketing and communications. Showcasing real-world examples, it successfully demonstrates the marriage of commercial marketing concepts into public sector practice.”

Dr. K Vijaya, Director, Corporate Marketing & Communications,
Health Promotion Board, Singapore

“Public sector organizations are now faced with an urgent need to stand out from the crowd in order to successfully compete for funding, talent, and influence. Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee have written a unique, practical, and timely book containing comprehensive guidelines and cases that those involved in the marketing of public sector organizations will find absorbing and most useful.”

Paul Temporal, Group Managing Director, Temporal Brand
Consulting, Author of Public Sector Branding in Asia

“Every day, professionals in the public sector deliver thousands of programs and services in increasingly demanding environments. This book is a ‘must read’ and a standard reference for every public servant engaged in public sector marketing and communications. Congratulations to Kotler and Lee for creating a book that is both educational and practical.”

Jim Mintz, Director, Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing

• Use time-tested marketing principles to increase citizen participation, compliance, and support
• Leverage proven “4Ps” marketing tactics: optimize product, price, place, and promotion
• Segment your markets, reach your clients where they are–and satisfy them
• Influence positive behavior: 12 social marketing principles that work

Marketing in the Public Sector is a groundbreaking book written exclusively for governmental agencies. It offers dozens of marketing success stories from agencies of all types–from around the world–so that you can make a difference in your organization. World-renowned marketing expert Dr. Philip Kotler and social marketing consultant Nancy Lee show that marketing is far more than communications and has at its core a citizen-oriented mindset. You’ll become familiar with the marketing toolbox and come to understand how these tools can be used to engender citizen support for your agency, increase utilization of your products and services, influence positive public behaviors–even increase revenues and decrease operating costs. This book offers no-nonsense roadmaps on how to create a strong brand identity, gather citizen input, and evaluate your efforts. It presents a step-by-step model for developing a marketing plan, pulling the lessons of the entire book together into one, high-impact action plan. Simply put, this book empowers you to build the “high-tech, high-touch” agency of the future–and deliver more value for every penny you spend.

Philip Kotler (M.A., University of Chicago, Ph.D., M.I.T.) is the S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He published his 12th edition of Marketing Management, the world’s leading textbook in teaching marketing to MBAs. He has also published Principles of Marketing, Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, Marketing Places, Kotler on Marketing, Marketing Insights A to Z, Lateral Marketing, Social Marketing, Museum Strategies and Marketing, Standing Room Only, Corporate Social Responsibility, and several other books. His research covers strategic marketing, innovation, consumer marketing, business marketing, services marketing, distribution, e-marketing, and social marketing. He has been a consultant to IBM, Bank of America, Merck, General Electric, Honeywell, and many other companies. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from ten major universities here and abroad.

Nancy Lee, MBA, has more than 25 years of practical marketing experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. This is the third book she has coauthored with Philip Kotler. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington and Seattle University where she teaches Marketing in the Public Sector, Social Marketing, and Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. She is President of Social Marketing Services, Inc., founded in 1993, and consults with local, national, and international governmental agencies on strategic marketing planning, campaign development, and program evaluation. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, seminars, and workshops for public sector program managers and administrators.