Marketing Expenditure is growing faster than ever before, fuelled by corporate growth objectives that seek to launch new products, reach new customers, penetrate new channels and expand into new geographies. Marketing is a $450 billion industry.

In large brand-led organisations there is typically significant tension between the finance and marketing departments.

JUDIE LANNON: There have been a number of wide-ranging changes in the payment business over the last few years. In your opinion, what have been the most important? JEREMY NICHOLDS:

Pressed for measures, it is sales and cost trends, numbers of qualified staff and so on that are usually the first to be wheeled in by the marketing function.

In marketing, the world is always 'new and improved'.

The broad history of consumer culture has been largely concerned with the evolution of goods from commodity status to the sophisticated constructs we now call brands.