In marketing there are only four components: the marketer, the market, the message, and the means. I arrived at the four years ago in my own research, but I have noticed that other marketing materials today reflect these elements (with somewhat different terms).
Various scholars argue against the model. I find it simple, elegant, and useful. Still I have concerns: the distinction between all four, but particularly the message and the means, are important but not absolute. In this case, the nuanced thinker must acknowledge the danger of pronouncing absolute differences. Distinction and emphasis are two useful categorization tools.
