Content Marketing Today

Why The Statue of Liberty Offers the Best Brand Promise for America

Lady Liberty Symbolizes All That’s Right about the United States in a Uniquely Powerful Way

This may be more about loving the Statue of Liberty than about marketing.  So I might be slightly off-topic. Even so, you don’t have to look any farther than the Statue of Liberty to understand the potential power of a brand promise with deep, authentic roots.

This year, in the weeks before 9/11, I started to think about what I believe is the most powerful symbol of all that is right about the United States, not just for Americans but for people around the world. I also began to think that the only thing worse than losing the Twin Towers in 2001 would have been losing the Statue of Liberty, too.

Since its dedication on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty has stood astride the New York harbor as a beacon for new immigrants and returning Americans alike. In the days of the great ocean liners and before the dominance of air travel, she gave a warm symbolic welcome to the United States. She was one of the very first things every traveler saw when their ships pulled into the harbor.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I suppose that in today’s more cynical times those words inscribed at the base of the statue might sound like an over-the-top sentiment. But, for millions of immigrants from around the world, the words of Emma Lazarus offered an entrée to a new life that would have been impossible in the countries from which they had come.

Other great countries have icons that also match up indisputably to the country for people around the world. The Eiffel Tower in France and Big Ben in England come to mind. Yet, I think that the Statue of Liberty is somehow different because it reflects the promise of the exceptional opportunities available to all who are born here or who arrive from somewhere else.

Lady Liberty’s potent symbolism extends broadly in our culture. One of my favorite offbeat examples comes from Ghostbusters II in which the statue is brought to life in a last ditch attempt to save the city of New York.

As Dan Aykroyd and co. desperately seek to destroy the evil that has captured the city, they ponder about just what’s required to do the job: "We need something that everyone in this town can get behind… a symbol… something that appeals to the best nature in every one of us… something good… something decent… something pure."

And, sure enough, the Statue of Liberty saves the day, the city, and the country. OK, it was an implausible happy movie ending. Even so, you can be pretty sure that every movie audience was rooting for Lady Liberty. And, in a similarly heartfelt way, I think we’re also counting on her to keep us on course as far into the future as we can see. 

Here then is a very brief marketing lesson we might take away: In terms of building an authentic brand promise, the Statue of Liberty is a pretty tough act to follow. But, if your organization can be crystal clear about the warm welcome it offers to customers who are looking for solutions, your authenticity may win them over in the very same way.