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MARKETING RENAISSANCE
By Nick B. Fontanila (word
document)
The
European renaissance had many accomplishments. To my mind, two major
accomplishments of the renaissance of the 15th century stand
out. These are the fusion of science and art brought about by the
renewed interest in the arts and critical thinking, and trade expansion
brought about by the far-reaching scientific inventions and geographical
discoveries.
Fusion of Art and Science
The Renaissance of the 15th century brought with it humanism,
nationalism, a new approach to life, a new spirit in art, architecture,
literature and learning, the growth of the vernaculars, and scientific
investigation.
It began and perfected the fusion of art and science. It is this fusion
that fueled interest in risk management or the mastery of risk
(Bernstein, 1996). Peter Bernstein provides insights on the fusion of
art and science particularly by discussing events and persons that best
represent this fusion.
The friendship of Paccioli, a Franciscan monk and professor of
mathematics, and Leonardo da Vinci was among them. Paccioli provided
the stimulus for transforming Leonardo’s thinking and mathematical
ambitions. Bernstein wrote that this interaction effectively reoriented
Leonardo’s interest in mathematics in a way that no other contemporary
thinker accomplished.
Girolamo Cardano is another
quintessential Renaissance man. Bernstein writes that his
accomplishments blended science and art and covered a wide range of
subject matter, including mathematics, astronomy, physics, urine, teeth,
life of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ’s horoscope, morality,
immortality, Nero, and music. His time and works shuttled from
mathematics to arts.
His
Liber de Ludo presented the principles of probability. His concept
of probability combined the gut view and scientific view -- one looking
into the future, the other interpreting the past; one concerned with our
opinions, the other concerned with what we actually know.
Trade Expansion
The
second major accomplishment of the European renaissance of the 15th
century was the opening of an international trade market.
The cultivation of invention led to or was aided by the market
environment (Landes, 1999). David Landes concluded that enterprise
became free in Europe, a situation that provided the opportunity for
adventures and innovation.
Perhaps more than anything, the Renaissance stood for expansion. Landes
writes that people realized the world was full of resources, wealth,
interest and beauty, and many good things could be experienced and
enjoyed.
Each new market
discovered led to the opening of another. Each new opportunity brought
with it other possibilities for those who were willing to explore them.
This led to a cycle of innovation, exploration, and geographic
expansion. Wealth seeking was a crucial motivator during the
renaissance.
The
manner by which the Portuguese went at their task to explore and open up
new markets and even sources of new products and wealth demonstrated the
inventiveness and proficiency brought about by a wealth-seeking class.
Landes describes that this wealth-seeking class carefully investigated
territories; analyzed competition; evaluated available resources;
checked current political structure; looked at religion, verified
customs and traditions; and were conscious of economic systems
What
brought about this penchant to explore markets and seek wealth? In the
final analysis, the opportunity that goes with new and bigger markets
was the main engine for change.
When Adam Smith came to
write about the renaissance in the eighteenth century, he pointed out
that the widening of the market encourage technological innovation (Landes).
This is exactly what happened in the Europe of the Middle Ages – one of
the most inventive and imperialistic societies that history had
known.
This is
fundamentally the environment in a Marketing Renaissance – new and
bigger markets, new ideas, and new products invigorating a market that
has grown weary of old unexciting products; and a market that is
endlessly in search for new ideas and product platforms.
Marketing Renaissance
Marketing Renaissance symbolizes the same intellectual
revolt against rigid rules and traditions that marked the temper of the
European renaissance.
Its goals are to provide a framework for articulating
unimagined futures, create an environment for transformation and change,
for shaping the spirit of the future, and for shifting the role of
marketing to its highest gear ever.
Marketing Renaissance is a movement, an advocacy that hopes
to release the discipline of marketing from the boundaries of the past;
inspire practitioners to look at a new horizon that is infinite in its
scope and limitless in its possibilities; to weaken the intellectual
authority of rigid and outdated practice; and to spread the gospel of
creativity, critical thinking and new knowledge.
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