The evolution of marketing: an historical perspective

Abstract

For a better understanding of marketing and its growing importance in organizations, this work provided a detailed view of the historical evolution of marketing, from a time when it was not yet considered a specific area, up to the present day. The early history of marketing included activities that were developed only as trade practices. After 1900, marketing activities differed from the practices of trade, with the emergence of Marketing as a distinct domain. So from 1900, the history was divided into decades until now to show the emergence of the different schools of thought, the development of new activities, marketing inside organizations as well as the differentiation into the specific activities of Societal Marketing and Experience Marketing. Further, the history of marketing in Brazil was revisited emphasizing important milestones. Finally, some contributions from other areas of knowledge and sciences as well as problems experienced by Marketing are mentioned.