Exploring key neo‐marketing directions through the use of an academic “think tank” : A methodological framework

This paper is designed to set the scene in terms of introducing the methodological framework used in the academic “think tank” in marketing held at Lake of Menteith in Scotland in 1999. Some important academic insights and considerations are discussed at the outset with regard to the evaluation of future impacts on the multiple facets of the marketing discipline, although the amount and quality of dedicated academic research in this area has been limited. The new role of the marketing function and new customer market structures are debated, followed by a discussion of the intrinsic capabilities of scenario planning, as an environmental forecasting technique. Furthermore, we analyse the contribution of knowledge based systems to scenario planning and describe the design/development of an expert system at the Lake of Menteith gathering.