MARKENDIUM: The Essentials (Volume 1-6) Paperback – Unabridged, January 1, 2016

Good product

I purchased the MARKENDIUM set through the SMPS website link in paperback version. To start on a positive note, I like the size of the book because I can throw it in to my purse and read it on the go; however, I am shocked that SMPS, a marketing-focused organization would publish a book with such low quality and in addition to all the other costs associate with the certification and the exam, charge $160 for this set of books. I may have received a bootleg version because everything but the front cover is black and white (more like grey and white), including all graphics, such as the pie charts , graphs and tables. Even the paper stock is cheap and dull. As a marketer, it's not the type of paper I would use to send a proposal to a client. I'm very disappointed that SMPS settled for such a low standard. It is completely contradictory of the message they try to send by preparing marketing for the CPSM exam.

If you are studying for your CPSM, these books are a must. I passed my test with them, and refer to them almost monthly, and even scan information out to send to other people when trying to explain marketing principals. These books aren't meant to be in color and look beautiful; they are study guides meant to write in and highlight. I carried them with me everywhere I went for months while studying and the held up very well. I refer to them so often that other people in my marketing department bought them to use as well.

For anyone who used the old system for the CPSM test, this is refreshing. As a way to review prior to taking the CPSM exam, I read this series. I took the test back in 2016, so it was still the test based on the previous Marketing Handbook and Marketing Fundamentals, as well as, other required reading. This set breaks all the domains down in an easy to follow way. You also don't feel intimidated by the size. You can just throw it in your bag and read on the go. I appreciate that there is a kindle version since I am trying to be more of a minimalist and have less physical things. Great job to the Markendium team. You hit a home run with this set! Oh and yes, I passed the exam.

The Domains are poorly organized, formatted and have odd sentence spacing and hyphenation, making the books difficult to read. Worse yet...you cannot see any graphics or tables as they are blurry and far too small. I will have to purchase the physical books as well to study properly. Amazon should never have released this series for Kindle without even looking at to see if it was viable!

I am using this book to study for an exam and am unable to read the charts and the set up in the Kindle version is difficult to find the way it is set up and organized.