A Brief History of the Academy of Marketing Conference

The 2017 AM Conference was the 50th Conference of what is now known as the Academy of Marketing. This numbering is based on the article “How old is MEG?” written by Raymond J. Lawrence, in which he describes the birth of the conference, and the organisation:

“The first convened meeting of marketing teachers in the U.K. took place in Harrogate on June 22-23, 1966. Ray Lawrence, then newly appointed to a first Chair in Marketing set up at Lancaster University, had written to all full-time teachers of marketing he could identify at Polytechnics, Technical Colleges, Universities and management training centres, suggesting that mutual interests would justify a conference. Thirty-eight U.K. marketing academics and five guests attended. A further 12 teachers were invited but were unable to come due to prior commitments.”

The sequence of events started by this conference led to the official birth of MEG (the Marketing Education Group) in 1972, which was renamed the Academy of Marketing at the 1996 AGM.

We have compiled the listing below from the article and the organisation’s records. However, if you have any more information, or indeed records or copies of proceedings you would like to donate to the Academy, please contact the admin office at [email protected].

YEAR	LOCATION/HOST – THEME	NO.
2024	Cardiff University – Marketing: Fusing resilience and power for public value – igniting marketing’s social spirit	56
2023	University of Birmingham – From Revolution to Revolutions	55
2022	University of Huddersfield – Marketing: The Fabric of Life	54
2021	Academy of Marketing Virtual Conference – Reframing Marketing Priorities	53
2020	Conference cancelled due to Coronavirus Pandemic
2019	Regent’s University London – When You Tire of Marketing You Tire of Life	52
2018	University of Stirling – Marketing the Brave	51
2017	University of Hull – Freedom Through Marketing: Looking Back, Going Forward	50
2016	Northumbria University – Radical Marketing	49
2015	University of Limerick – The Magic in Marketing	48
2014	Bournemouth University – Marketing Dimensions: People, Places & Spaces	47
2013	University of South Wales – Marketing Relevance	46
2012	University of Southampton Management School – Marketing: catching the technology wave	45
2011	University of Liverpool Management School – Marketing Fields Forever	44
2010	Coventry University – Transformational Marketing	43
2009	Leeds Metropolitan University – Putting Marketing in its Place	42
2008	Aberdeen Business School – Reflective Marketing in a Material World	41
2007	Kingston Business School – Marketing Theory into Practice	40
2006	Middlesex University Business School – Marketing Excellence	39
2005	Dublin Institute of Technology – Marketing: Building Business, Shaping Society	38
2004	University of Gloucestershire – Virtue in Marketing	37
2003	Aston Business School – History of the Next Decade	36
2002	University of Nottingham – The Marketing Landscape: signs for the future	35
2001	Cardiff University – A Marketing Odyssey	34
2000	University of Derby – Bridging the Divide	33
1999	University of Stirling – New Marketing, New Relevance – education and innovation for the next generation	32
1998	Sheffield Hallam University – Adding Value Through Marketing	31
1997	Manchester Metropolitan University –  Marketing without Borders	30
1996	University of Strathclyde – 2021 – A vision for the next 25 years	29
1995	University of Bradford –  Making Marketing Work	28
1994	University of Ulster – Marketing Unity in Diversity  (& 1st Doctoral Colloquium)	27
1993	Loughborough University Business School –  Emerging Issues in Marketing	26
1992	University of Salford – Marketing in the New Europe and Beyond	25
1991	Cardiff Business School – Preparing Marketing for the New Millennium	24
1990	Oxford Polytechnic – Recent Developments in Marketing	23
1989	Glasgow Business School – Marketing Audit of the 80s	22
1988	Huddersfield Polytechnic – Marketing – Past, present and future	21
1987	Warwick University – Reviewing Effective Research and Good Practice in Marketing	20
1986	Plymouth Polytechnic – Managing Marketing	19
1985	University of Stirling – Marketing in the 90s and Beyond	18
1984	Institute of Marketing, Cookham  – Marketing Education – Education for Marketing	17
1983	Cranfield School of Management – Back to Basics: the 4Ps revisited	16
1982	Lancaster University Marketing – Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice	15
1981	Dublin, College of Marketing & Design – Marketing – Future Imperfect	14
1980	Heriot Watt – Marketing into the ‘80s (joint with EAARM)	13
1979	Bristol – New Directions in Marketing and Research	12
1978	Hull College of Higher Education Workshops – Marketing Education / Recessional Marketing / Marketing Theory and Practice	11
1977	London Business School – Developments in Marketing – Theory, Practice and Teaching	10
1976	Strathclyde – Buyer Behaviour	9
1975	Norwich – Marketing Is … The Latest Thing	8
1974	University of Lancaster – Marketing as a Non-American Activity	7
1973	University of Kent at Canterbury	6
1972	University of Keele	5
1971	University of Keele – “1st” National Marketing Teacher’s Conference	4
1970	No meeting	–
1969	Ashridge –  Seminar (not counted as a full conference)	–
1968	Harrogate – Teachers of Marketing at advanced level	3
1967	Harrogate – Teaching of Marketing Conference	2
1966	Harrogate –  First convened meeting of marketing teachers in the UK	1