Marketing theory and practice: the case of the Egg Card

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review Egg Card's current marketing strategy, drawing on the recent media flurry over its disaffected customers. The paper also seeks to highlight the extent of Egg Card's contribution to the gap between marketing theory (i.e. marketing as an academic discipline) and practice (marketing in the real world) and to point out the implications this might have for the future of marketing as an academic discipline. Design/methodology/approach - The paper adopts a qualitative content analysis of academic, media, and other official company reports on the development of the gaps between marketing theory and practice. Findings - Egg Card's (post-acquisition by Citigroup since May 2007) first-mover response to the global economic downturn and ensuing credit-crunch epitomizes the entrenched disconnection between how marketing is taught as an academic discipline and how it plays out in the real world. Originality/value - The paper attempts to introduce a new concept - Jaymarketer - into the marketing literature in the hope that academics will become able to reconnect with the real world of marketing. Hopefully, this will set the stage for further research on how to bridge the dichotomies between marketing theory and marketing practice.