The PPI Mis-Selling Case : SDL and the Relevance of Marketing Theory

The theme of this year’s Academy of Marketing conference is “Marketing Relevance”. In the call for papers for the conference the organisers begin to problematize the meaning of relevance, explaining that the conference will explore “the relevance of marketing within the broader disciplinary agenda, as well as academic marketing’s relevance to practice.” We agree with the organisers that relevance is a multi-faceted concept. In this paper we seek to investigate the meanings of relevance in marketing by exploring a significant recent case study in business practice through an important theoretical lens. The case study selected is the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) by financial institutions in the UK market. The case will be described in a little more detail below; in summary the conclusion reached by the relevant UK authorities (the Financial Services Authority, the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission) is that large numbers of British consumers were misled by financial institutions into buying insurance that they did not need and possibly could not claim against. It is clearly a case that raises important issues about marketing and selling, particularly if, as some have claimed (e.g. Eriksson & Soderberg, 2010), the financial services sector is particularly suitable for long-term customer relationship marketing.