Rengen: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer - and What It Means to Your Business | 
| Author: Patricia Martin
Publisher: Platinum Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $5.86
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 28385
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 1598691341
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.30112
EAN: 9781598691344
Publication Date: June 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good Condition, Dispatched from UK, delivery time 10 to 12 Working days
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Product Description
The good news: America is on the brink of a new renaissance. The bad news: Many companies, the media, and even the general population still see America as an intellectual and cultural wasteland defined by reality television and fast food. In this groundbreaking book, cultural specialist Patricia Martin challenges that presumption and argues that we are on the precipice of a major cultural renaissance. Who we are and what we care about is shifting-and a new set of imperatives, products, behaviors, and ambitions is emerging. RenGen looks at the factors giving rise to this huge economic, social, and cultural shift, including: - A growing desire to express new ideas and concepts aesthetically
- The renewed interest in learning fueled by the Internet
- A longing to find a new order amongst endless complexity
- Rising interest in enlightenment, evangelism, and reinventing oneself
- Increased concern about political, social, and environmental issues
Based on extensive research with cultural experts/resources-including 1,400 marketing executives, major foundations including the Wallace Foundation, cultural institutions such as the New York Philharmonic, and "culture scouts" in major cities-RenGen provides a lens through which you can recognize and leverage the sea change occurring in your city, community, and the marketplace at large.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 A fabulous new view November 11, 2008
Patricia Martin weaves fantastic storytelling with right on evidence that something big is happening. With the recent stock market crash and economic insecurity, businesses need a new way to look at consumers. What Ms. Martin brings to the table is eerily on target, presenting a fresh perspective that expresses vital information about today's cultural consumer. RenGen is a must read for anyone who doesn't want to be left behind in this changing economy. I'm looking forward to her future writings that will help shed more light on this coming (perhaps already here) renaissance!
 Deeply Flawed January 29, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Would that it were true, but I'm afraid I'm in nearly total agreement with JimR's negative review from December 29, 2007. The book never makes its primary point that we're on the cusp of another renaissance, primarily because it fails to convincingly establish the clear precursors of such an historical shift.
Like most marketeers, Ms. Martin over-claims, subtitling her second chapter "How a Renaissance Begins," and asserting there are five "immutable" preconditions to renaissance. However, on page 3 in her first chapter ("Preconditions for a Rebirth") the author explicitly acknowledges deep limitations to her approach, saying:
"I wanted to plot the process that leads up to a transformation as profound as a renaissance. *But* the differences between two civilizations separated by eight centuries are so great, that I focused on the catalytic conditions that share certain similarities, *instead*." [Asterisks are mine.]
Ms. Martin never says what methodological differences exist between "plotting the process" and "focusing on the catalytic conditions" that produced a renaissance, but she clearly implies the former was too difficult and the latter simpler. Worse, she never describes how she chose which conditions qualified as catalytic. This level of social analysis may suffice in boardrooms when reliable, comprehensive date is scarce, and organizations must move quickly, but it is insufficient for predicting significant historical trends. In addition, the author claims a pattern based on a sample of one, never citing any renaissance besides that of Western Europe in the 14th century. She compounds this profound mistake by conflating pre-Renaissance and Imperial Rome. I'm afraid this is what happens when an ultra-contemporary demographer/zeitgeister makes historical claims.
Nevertheless, "RegGen" may serve as a modest introduction to the life and times of those Americans whom elected to pursue a humanities degree over the last 40 years, and particularly since the advent of the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, even within this narrower scope the reader may be better served by other books.
 dull and obvious December 29, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Not worth the time to read. The author seems to want to be seen as a futurist giving us a great insight into the current state of the world and the likely near future. However, the case that there is a significant renaissance happening today is never made, in part because the analysis of the precursors of the 1300 - 1600 renaissance period is so weak. If you already know that American's are aware of design and aesthetics today in part due to media and marketing, and that the internet is connecting people in new ways, then there isn't any news here for you.
"Joe six-pack" is so over November 1, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Patricia Martin has succinctly described the new age of the cultural consumer. The mass-market advertising aimed at "Joe Six-Pack" is largely going to be wasted, much like Joe.
My take-away from this book is that the new mass-market is a mass of micro-markets. People's interests have splintered with the advent of the internet: there is so much more to explore, and they can explore faster. Companies that want to succeed will need to sponsor smaller and more focused cultural events, and reach very targeted web audiences.
Certainly, mega-events like the Super Bowl will still be attractive to advertisers who like to waste money, but the bigger bang is in the mass of micro-markets in smaller venues.
Good news! September 14, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a treat to read a book predicting a positive future! Patricia Martin makes a very strong case for the creativity, energy and resilience of today's youth. She does an amazing and thorough job of documenting the arrival of the next renaissance. I'm recommending this book to a lot of people who can help make the RenGen happen.
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