As we start the 10’s, the landscape of advertising will become even more shaky for those who rely on “what used to work.”

Advertising is rooted in the era of the door-to-door salesman. Consumers have grown to resent its pushy tactics.

It’s time for a Renaissance. Time to discover ways to help consumers make buying decisions that are in their best interest. This has always been the purpose of the Engel Journal.

What has changed in 2010 is the Engel Journal’s tagline. In 2009, it was Reinventing Persuasion. It’s now A RENAISSANCE IN PERSUASION.

The word Renaissance is French for “rebirth.” During the Renaissance that started around 1500s, achievements were made across a broad range of disciplines.

There was no rule that said a painter could not be a mathematician or an architect could not invent an airplane. For example, Leonardo DaVinci was a world renown painter who created the Mona Lisa. He also made significant advancements in weaponry, machines, buildings, flying machines, mechanics, geometry.

Over the next year, we will take a renaissance approach to advertising. Our journey will take us deep into the inner-workings of linguistics, psychology, object-oriented thinking, neuroscience, and spirituality. We’ll be looking for new ways to help consumers get what they want.

What the end product will look like? I don’t know yet. Perhaps the changes will appear small. Or perhaps they will be unlike anything we have called ‘advertising’ before.