A definition of marketing that's actually usable
Why the standard institutional definitions expand until they mean nothing, and what a functional alternative looks like. One that describes an actual job done by actual people.
Out now · Paperback & Kindle
Marketing Isn't Special
The value of embracing boring, reliable marketing.
For decades, marketing has tried to earn a seat at the corporate table by insisting it be involved in every part of the business, chasing awards and disruption, and diving headfirst into whatever trend arrived next. That hasn't worked.
This book makes the case for the opposite. A functional definition of marketing, one that describes an actual job done by actual people, and the reliable, sometimes unglamorous fundamentals that follow from it.
156 pages. Published October 2026. Available on Amazon.
Based on two decades of experience supporting various brands, including ADP, Bayer Crop Science, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, ENGIE Impact, ExxonMobil, Fifth Third Bank, and P&G.
The argument
Marketing earns its seat the same way every other function did
If you think marketing, as a corporate discipline, is in a good place right now, this book isn't for you. If you see the discipline as largely misunderstood, undervalued, and fractured, and would like to see that change, read on.
Finance, legal, and operations did not win their authority by being interesting. They won it by defining a job, standardizing how it gets done, and delivering against it reliably. Marketing has spent its energy on the opposite strategy and has very little to show for it.
The argument here is that marketing should prioritize the reliable, sometimes unglamorous work it is uniquely equipped to do. Commoditized does not mean less valuable. It means trusted.
Inside
What the book covers
01
02
Commoditization as maturity
What marketing can learn from IT's path from novelty to infrastructure, and why "commoditized" does not mean less valuable.
03
Brand awareness and demand generation
The two outcomes marketing is genuinely responsible for, and what it takes to produce them on purpose rather than by accident.
04
Process, campaigns, and measurement
The paint-by-numbers layer that makes marketing predictable, and frees the team to handle the parts that aren't.
Readers
Who it's for
Marketers doing the day-to-day delivery
A clearer definition of the job you already do, and the fundamentals that make it repeatable instead of reactive.
Leaders overseeing the marketing work
A standard to plan, staff, and manage against, and a way to defend the function in rooms where it keeps losing the argument.
Executives outside marketing
A plain explanation of what marketing is responsible for, what it isn't, and what you should reasonably expect from it.
Editions
Book details
Paperback
$18.99 · 156 pages · 6 x 9 inches · ISBN 979-8998207808 · Published October 17, 2026. Buy on Amazon →
Kindle
$9.99 · Available instantly · ISBN 979-8998207815 · Published October 19, 2026. Read on Kindle →
Sample
Amazon offers a free preview of the opening pages, and will send a sample to your Kindle. Read a sample →
Author
Scott Spjut
Trained as a journalist at Newsweek and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Writing professionally since 2006, and applying that editorial discipline inside marketing since 2010.
Now consulting on content strategy, SEO, and answer engine optimization. Selected work samples are here. Subscribe to the Marketing Isn't Special newsletter on Substack.
FAQ
Common questions
What is Marketing Isn't Special about?
It argues that marketing should stop trying to earn credibility through disruption, awards, and involvement in everything, and instead standardize its fundamentals the way finance, legal, and operations did. The book sets out a functional definition of marketing, one that describes an actual job done by actual people, and then works through what that definition requires: brand awareness, demand generation, process, campaigns, and measurement.
Who should read Marketing Isn't Special?
Three groups. Marketers doing the day-to-day delivery who want a clearer definition of the job. Leaders overseeing marketing work who need a standard to plan and manage against. Executives outside marketing who are still not sure how the function fits into the rest of the business.
What does the title Marketing Isn't Special mean?
It means marketing is a business function like any other, and benefits from being treated that way. Special-case status has not produced the authority marketing wanted. Doing a defined job reliably, and being measured on it, is what earned the other functions their standing. Commoditized does not mean less valuable.
Where can I buy Marketing Isn't Special?
On Amazon, in paperback for $18.99 and as a Kindle ebook for $9.99. The paperback is 156 pages and was published on October 17, 2026. The Kindle edition was published on October 19, 2026.
Get the book
Marketing Isn't Special is out now
Paperback, $18.99. Kindle, $9.99. Both on Amazon.
Speaking, bulk orders, or press: contact@scottspjut.com