For marketers and PR people, in some ways the 250th birthday of the United States will be similar to the Super Bowl and Olympics. There will be so many promotions that it will be difficult for one to stand out from the clutter.
There are sure to be brand promotions tied to the history of America. There are also sure to be numerous brands that will celebrate America by having tags on their advertising and products saying “America 250” or similar phrases. None of these are likely to result in consumer news that outlets cover. These promotions, as with Super Bowl and Olympic promotions, will end up in trade pubs.
What is necessary to catch the attention of journalists are promotions that are in the news that have a direct nexus to the founding of the United States and that can be done locally and nationally.
As a public relations consultant, I no longer control individual accounts. But if I still did, I would craft programs around immigration, press freedom and voting rights. The reasons for my choosing those should be obvious—they all are covered almost daily by the media and will be for the remainder of President Trump’ s term in office. In addition, they are subjects that are controversial and there are few things more that attract media attention than controversy.
In addition to being media friendly those themes have a direct connection to the founding of the U.S.
- Press Freedom: Thomas Paine’s pamphlets Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783) disseminated the argument for independence from Great Britain. Less known is that he was a critic of George Washington, which creates a direct link to today’s journalists who criticize President Trump.
- Immigration: Parroting the trite phrase used by politicians that “America is a nation of immigrants” is not enough to attract media coverage for a brand. What I would do is to enlist a prominent, well respected historian and plan a media tour during which he would discuss the history of immigration and the effect it had on the building of the U.S.
- Voting Rights: With President Trump’s call to nationalize the 2026 mid-term Congressional election, this topic, as are the above two, is certain to remain in the news. What I would do is to engage a prominent Constitutional scholar and arrange media interviews regarding the current situation.
The above suggestions do not have the whistles and marching bands that many 250th birthday celebrations will have. They also are broad ideas that have many blanks to be filled in, which should be easy for people in our profession to attach them to current political situations.
But unlike the Super Bowl and Olympic promotions, which receive coverage in trade pubs, the above ideas, if crafted correctly, have the ability of breaking through the clutter of the mostly trite 250th promotions. In addition, the topics will be newsworthy long after the 250th birthday celebrations are history, giving the brand an on-going publicity vehicle, if it desires.
I understand that during the 250 years of America most brands have, and still do, shy away from becoming involved with anything controversial or political. But times have changed. Surveys reveal that consumers, especially younger ones and women, want brands to become politically involved.
My advice is that they should do so and there’s not a better time than to do so then during America’s 250th birthday celebration.
