The World's Most Famous Press Release

Post was featured on Forbes.com on July 4th. 
It was written over 230 years ago, 200-300 copies were printed for towns up and down the east coast, and a few made their way to Europe. Contrary to popular belief it contained no signatures and what it promoted was completely unique, new, and flawed.

The Declaration of Independence is arguably the “world’s most famous press release”, according the curator at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where it was written and approved in its final form (unsigned) on July 4^th, 1776.  The signed copy we are familiar with was created in August for ceremonial purposes.  

I found it interesting to hear one of the world’s most famous and important documents being referred to as a “press release” during a class field trip with my son.  The curator used the analogy because he said that there is confusion regarding the purpose of the Declaration; “...the goal of the document was to only articulate “What” and “Why,” not “How.”

As a marketing guy in the audience, I found this history lesson to be an interesting “best practice” from the founding fathers; focus on effectively communicating ONLY “what “and “why.”  How many times have you written and/or read a press release that tried to say too much, and/or lacked clarity on its intended objective?

Another interesting point gathered during our visit was the struggle to form a new federal government (the “How”) under the Articles of Confederation.  At the time, the new federal government had no revenue source (taxation), and no real authority over the states.  

The states operated as their own “countries” deciding on their own currency, religion, and diplomacy with other countries.  Again the marketer in me saw the similarity to the power struggle between corporate marketing and other sales/marketing organizations (Product, Field, Region, etc.).  Would history provide another lesson for marketers?

Congress struggled with governing under the Articles.  Instead of revising the existing document, the Federal Convention decided to draft an entirely new frame of government.  According to the curator, three key issues hung up the approval of the Articles; 

1. Religion
2. Slavery  
3. The power given to the federal government, which many saw coming at the expense of the states. 

Addressing the religious issue was easy; they left it out of the U.S. Constitution.  It was later covered under the Bill of Rights.  On slavery, they reached a compromise by outlawing slave trade in 1808, twenty years in the future.  But the single most important change was the shift from states to the individual in granting the federal government its power.

“We the people…do ordain and establish the Constitution of the United States.”  The federal government now answered to citizens and not the states.  State representatives and congressman now represented the views and best interests of the people within their districts.  By putting citizens first, the founding fathers established a focal point that transcended state interest.  

Could this be the time for a B2B marketing revolution?  With the rise in social media adoption, marketers can now better gauge the needs and desires of their customers.  Customers for their part are showing a willingness to engage like never before.  

As a result, marketers are now presented with an opportunity to shift focus from solely addressing and satisfying internal “states” needs to anticipating, engaging, and serving the needs of customers.

Although I'm a proud Virginian, I'm no Patrick Henry but I say marketers, it's time for our own declaration...marketing by the people, for the people!