Roman Marketing ... or,

"How to Build Your Own Empire in 5 Easy Steps"therich mythological sources of the ancient Greek,
Long before the movie "Gladiator" hit the theatres,Rome filledin the holes by making up their own
millionsof people have been fascinated with ancientculture. They createdtheir own legend. They told
Rome. More thanstories of Rome being founded bythe survivors of
15 centuries after its fall, the Roman Empire continuesTroy. Another story said Rome was foundedby
toprofoundly influence world history. But few haveRomulus and Remus. These stories awakened a
everexplored how Rome marketed itself tosense of the heroic in people.
greatness. It wasn'tall blood and guts, gladiators andIt gave them pride and confidence. It helped soldiers
chariots, togas andswords. There was a strategy andagree to fight for a countrythat was "the glory of
a mission, too.Rome." Battle wounds became symbols of pride.
After all, how could an ancient class of poor farmersIt'sno accident that Rome's principle god was
rulemost of Europe? Why would people leave theirMars---the god ofwar. With that kind of deity on
farms and theirfamilies to travel into unknownyour side, why *not* go intobattle?
territories and fightbarbaric wars? They were2. Share your wealth.
basically self-sufficient. Theydidn't even have a needIn the early days of Rome, citizens had no choice but
for money until the third century.toserve in the army. And they might serve up to 20
What's the deal here?years. Whywould they agree? Because Roman
Roman Marketing was the key. In short, it was aleaders made it worth theirwhile. Soldiers were given
powerhousestrategy practiced by the greatestland and later, when it wasuseful to have, money.
emperors to instillhypnotic confidence in soldiers,Whenever an enemy was defeated, thegoods were
allegiance from the public,and victory over almost alldivided among the soldiers as well as theleaders. A
enemies.happy soldier was a loyal soldier. Generosity wasa
And you can use it today to build your own empire.trait adored in Rome. In later years, when greedy
Here's how Roman Marketing worked:Romanleaders were more reluctant to share their
1. Create a mythology.wealth with theirtroops, soldiers were more reluctant
Rome did not have an inspiring past. Since it lackedto fight---and Romefell.