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Whether advertising is an investment and so should be treated like other parts of the capital budget is a question of moment to marketing managers. Viewing promotion as an investment could bring dramatic changes in decision-making, market-testing, measurements of effectiveness, and value judgments that are required in determining how much to spend on promotion. The economic case for an investment approach to the advertising budget is the theme of this article by a distinguished economist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift in emphasis from sales volume to profitability as a measure of field sales management marked a real forward step in marketing management. One further step IS necessary. The measure of effectiveness of business management should be return on investment (ROI), and not merely sales volume produced or profits as a percentage of sales. The field sales manager should be evaluated on the return on investment he produces in his segment of the business. The author believes that attention to ROI will not only result in harmonizing the objectives of the field sales organization with the over-all objective of the company, but will also equip field sales management with an effective businessman's tool for decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Charles K. Ramond suggests that sooner or later most companies will measure the return on their advertising as readily as they do the return on their other capital investments. And he also predicts that knowledge of the profitability of advertising will gradually inhibit tasteless advertising, thereby muting the public criticism some advertising men feel so keenly. Here is a "history" of the next 35 years of U.S. advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate price forecast is crucial when deciding on a new investment proposal for capital intensive commodities. In such industries as metals, plastics, and fertilizers, the sale price is the key profitability factor. New investments are too often based on specious forecasts which use historical price trends to predict the future. Another way to forecast prices which can provide more meaningful results is presented in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to an earlier article in the April 1956 issue of "The Journal of Marketing" from Professor Hans Brems, titled "Long-Run Automobile Demand." In that article, Professor Brems claimed that automobile output for the year 1955 exceeded demand and that it would be unwise to base long-run investment in plant on the current ratio of new car purchases. The author of this article takes issue with Professor Brems' claim, suggesting that his approach may be too simple and inadequate for long-run planning. The article summarizes Brems' formulation, presents an alternative formulation, and addresses long-run equilibrium adjustments and statistical derivation of the coefficients. The author claims that this model can also apply to other durable goods.