The 4 P's concept, a marketing-mix proposed by E. Jerome McCarthy in 1960, has been one of the most enduring concepts in marketing. With the profound technological advancements over the past five decades, we must ask, is the 50-year-old marketing-mix model still relevant today? The answer is "yes," as long as the 4 P's are defined and implemented appropriately, they are still relevant and valuable for today's marketers.

McCarthy's 4 P's refer to product, promotion, place, and price. The term product is what a company offers to the market; products, services, as well as complex solutions that consist of both products and services fall into this category. The term promotion refers to the ways in which a company communicates with potential buyers including advertising, direct response marketing, personal sales and public relations, as well as more modern communication channels such as inbound marketing and social media. The term place designates a location in the marketplace where a product or service can be purchased by the consumer. Lastly, the term price refers to the amount a customer will pay for a product or service with pricing set on perceived value, competitive comparisons and price elasticity.

Now that we have defined McCarthy's 4 P's, it is important to remember that they should be implemented as the four major aspects that marketers can control, versus what is required to be successful from the consumer's perspective. In 1990 the concept of the 4 C's was proposed as a more consumer-oriented version of the 4 P's that better fits the movement from mass marketing, to niche marketing (consumer, cost, communication, and convenience). Then in 2012, another set of 4 P's was introduced (people, processes, programs, and performance).

In the past five decades, both the consumer and the marketplace have greatly changed. The consumer is more informed than ever, with more options available to them and the ability to easily check others' views on a product or service. While the marketplace has changed, the core objectives and the elements of the marketing mix are much the same today as they were 50 years ago. McCarthy's 4 P's, when defined and implemented appropriately, will give any marketing plan a solid structure.