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BY Tom Kenny

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According to Ipsos, two-thirds of American marketers would fail a basic marketing test. The market research company’s study found that most marketers couldn’t answer even basic questions about the fundamentals of their own profession. Fully 40% didn’t know what “positioning” meant, 54% didn’t know what “above the line” meant, and half didn’t know what “penetration” meant.

Not surprisingly, the study sparked panic in the form of dozens of articles and Linkedin thought pieces blaming the decline in marketing fundamentals for everything from bad advertising to the discipline’s waning influence within the corporate hierarchy.

Rather than add to the fearmongering, I’d like to posit another perspective on the erosion of basic marketing skills.…