Our own Brad White has been selected as one of three Conference Chairs for the 2011 PDMA Annual International Conference.
This year’s conference is being held in Phoenix, AZ from October 29-November 2, 2011. Stay tuned for details.
In 1971, Las Vegas businessman Michael Oliver arrived at the Minerva Reefs in the Pacific Ocean, with barges of sand in tow. Oliver’s vision? A new nation, built on an artificial island, with “no taxation, welfare, subsidies, or any form of economic interventionism.”
After Oliver had filled the Minerva reefs with enough sand to bring the level of his new island above the waterline, the Republic of Minerva issued a declaration of independence in January 1972. They immediately sent letters to neighboring countries and even created their own currency, the 35 Minerva Dollar coin.
Unfortunately, the Republic of Minerva’s official currency wasn’t enough to convince Minerva’s neighbors of the nation’s legitimacy. The Tongan government sent an armed expedition in June to claim the Minerva reefs as their own. And on June 21, 1972, the Minervan flag was hauled down.
Modern attempts at new nation building have met similar fates. In April 1950, the small mining town of Rough and Ready in California seceded from the Union. Like the Republic of Minerva, the inhabitants of Rough and Ready were hoping for smaller government – specifically they wanted to avoid a recent tax on any new mining claims and the prohibition of alcohol in Nevada County, where Rough and Ready was situated.
Rough and Ready’s short-sighted secession was rescinded by its own voters less than three months later, when they realized they were no longer entitled to celebrate US independence.
Along the same lines, the Republic of Rose Island was founded by Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa in 1967. Similar to the Republic of Minerva, Rose Island was build on an artificial island – 400 square meters, supported by nine pylons, in the Adriatic Sea. Rosa, the self-declared President, built a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir shop and a post office. He also issued a number of postage stamps, some displaying the currency of the Republic of Rosa, the “Mill.” However, no coins or banknotes were ever known to be produced. The Italian government soon landed on the artificial island and took control, right before the Navy used explosives to destroy the island.
So what do all of these new nations have in common? Failure. Complete and absolute failure. Regardless of their motives behind starting a new nation, they failed to account for all of the steps required and the potential responses from existing nations. An over-investment in the visible symbols of a nation – things such as flags, currency, and postage stamps – may have distracted the leadership from what was truly important. While no one can argue that currency and postage stamps aren’t necessary, one could make a strong argument that an extremely vulnerable new nation might have more important things they could have been doing behind the scenes. Things like diplomacy, gaining recognition from governing authorities, and building infrastructure. These are not as visible as a postage stamp, but they lay the foundation for successful nation-building.
In the same way, companies that jump straight to the visible symbols of marketing without investing time and energy behind the scenes do themselves a disservice. Yes, ultimately an advertisement or a Twitter account or a press release is what the public sees. But the decisions behind the symbols are the true drivers of success. Things like segmenting and targeting a market, developing a positioning statement, developing a pricing strategy, and defining a brand architecture.
The real takeaway from the failure of these three “nations” is that strategy matters. Whether you are an established Fortune 500 company or a new start-up, you will benefit greatly from sound marketing strategy.
Image sources: tbd1 and jimmywayne
