improved performance but others have not, shown that the relationship is tentative at best. The marketing concept has long been criticised for being too customer focused and stifling innovation from within the organisation (Tauber 1974). This raises criticisms such as the spread of unimaginative thinking and tired, similar products (Day and Montgomery 1999). Samli et al. (1987) acknowledge that there is a need for outward technological, product-oriented push as well as customer-focused marketing while Martin and Faircloth (1995) view customer orientation in marketing as verging on obsession. An alternative is to be prepared to sometimes ignore the customer in order to create truly innovative products (Brown 2001; Berthon et al. 2004). Butler (2000) discusses the merits of product centred marketing in art, noting that artists do not necessarily follow the market but instead practice a form of product orientation which is not anti-marketing but is, rather, a refreshing re-take on the marketing concept.