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Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program
In July 1969, ninety-four percent of American televisions were tuned to coverage of Apollo 11's mission to the moon. How did space exploration, once the purview of rocket scientists, reach a larger audience than "My Three Sons"? Why did a government program whose standard operating procedure had been secrecy turn its greatest achievement into a communal experience? In " Marketing the Moon," David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek tell the story of one of the most successful marketing and public relations campaigns in history: the selling of the Apollo program.
Primed by science fiction, magazine articles, and appearances by Wernher von Braun on the "Tomorrowland" segments of the "Disneyland" prime time television show, Americans were a receptive audience for NASA's pioneering "brand journalism." Scott and Jurek describe sophisticated efforts by NASA and its many contractors to market the facts about space travel -- through press releases, bylined articles, lavishly detailed background materials, and fully produced radio and television features -- rather than push an agenda. American astronauts, who signed exclusive agreements with Life magazine, became the heroic and patriotic faces of the program. And there was some judicious product placement: Hasselblad was the "first camera on the moon"; Sony cassette recorders and supplies of Tang were on board the capsule; and astronauts were equipped with the Exer-Genie personal exerciser. Everyone wanted a place on the bandwagon.
Generously illustrated with vintage photographs, artwork, and advertisements, many never published before, "Marketing the Moon" shows that when Neil Armstrong took that giant leap for mankind, it was a triumph not just for American engineering and rocketry but for American marketing and public relations.
Primed by science fiction, magazine articles, and appearances by Wernher von Braun on the "Tomorrowland" segments of the "Disneyland" prime time television show, Americans were a receptive audience for NASA's pioneering "brand journalism." Scott and Jurek describe sophisticated efforts by NASA and its many contractors to market the facts about space travel -- through press releases, bylined articles, lavishly detailed background materials, and fully produced radio and television features -- rather than push an agenda. American astronauts, who signed exclusive agreements with Life magazine, became the heroic and patriotic faces of the program. And there was some judicious product placement: Hasselblad was the "first camera on the moon"; Sony cassette recorders and supplies of Tang were on board the capsule; and astronauts were equipped with the Exer-Genie personal exerciser. Everyone wanted a place on the bandwagon.
Generously illustrated with vintage photographs, artwork, and advertisements, many never published before, "Marketing the Moon" shows that when Neil Armstrong took that giant leap for mankind, it was a triumph not just for American engineering and rocketry but for American marketing and public relations.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published February 28, 2014
3 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
David Meerman Scott
45 books111 followersOur always-on, Web-driven world has new rules for competing and growing business. Advance planning is out – agile is IN! Those who embrace new ways will be far more successful than those who stay who stay stuck and afraid to change. No one knows more about using the new Real-Time tools and strategies to spread ideas, influence minds and build business than David Meerman Scott. It’s his specialty.
He’s a sales and marketing strategist who has spoken on all seven continents and in 40 countries to audiences of the most respected firms, organizations and associations.
David is author or co-author of ten books - three are international bestsellers. He is best known for The New Rules of Marketing & PR, now in its 6th edition, which has been translated into 29 languages and is a modern business classic with over 400,000 copies sold so far. David also authored Real-Time Marketing & PR, a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is co-author of Marketing the Moon (with Rich Jurek) and Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead (with HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan).
He’s a sales and marketing strategist who has spoken on all seven continents and in 40 countries to audiences of the most respected firms, organizations and associations.
David is author or co-author of ten books - three are international bestsellers. He is best known for The New Rules of Marketing & PR, now in its 6th edition, which has been translated into 29 languages and is a modern business classic with over 400,000 copies sold so far. David also authored Real-Time Marketing & PR, a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is co-author of Marketing the Moon (with Rich Jurek) and Marketing Lessons from The Grateful Dead (with HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan).
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 6, 2023
"Marketing the Moon" is an illustrated and comprehensive report on the history of the historical moon landing in marketing terms.
The discussion goes back to Jules Verne, who wrote his book From the Earth To The Moon, 104 years prior to the event, and proceeds to all the marketing gimmicks employed in the 1900s in the media, to the ultimate 400,000+ people contributing products, technology, and other skills to make the moon landing possible.
This book, only 145 pages long, speaks for itself. It is a must-read for anyone interested in space. The technology used, the engineering accomplishments, the marketing machine, the ordinary Americans who made it possible, the stories of individuals involved, the Hollywood and media machine run-up - every single aspect of the space program is discussed in detail.
From the book: Our goal for Marketing the Moon has been to examine the inner workings and public perceptions of the Apollo lunar program through the lens of practicing PR and marketing professionals. We do not attempt an encyclopedic presentation but rather an analysis of what was done, and what worked and what did not.
The marketing campaign reached the entire world. If the Americans thought it was huge, they probably were unaware of the reaction in the rest of the world. It was MASSIVE news! I still vividly remember the wonderment, the magic, the incredibility of this achievement. I think I was in love with all the astronauts at once and still am!
This greatest technological achievement of the 20th century was also a global event, as an estimated 600 million television viewers watched and listened as Eagle landed on the Moon and as the first human footprints marked the lunar surface. The achievement of broadcasting live television from the Moon was nearly as astonishing as landing there. Though the buildup to this moment was long, there can be no denying that the drama was epic and the dangers very great. Within the scientific community, it was understood that nearly every possible scenario required detailed preparation, ranging from anticipating physical mishaps and catastrophes to the remote likelihood that the astronauts might return to Earth carrying dangerous microbes.
This book explains how a timeline transformed the escapist dreams of writers and artists through the centuries into a scientific goal, by applying mathematics and science to the dreams and accomplishing the unimaginable. But it also emphasizes the immense role that the media played in the endeavor.
From the book: When reflecting upon the importance of television in Apollo’s legacy, Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, was emphatic. 'If you want to market the Apollo program, put the astronauts on television and let them have a press conference on the way home. Without television, Apollo would have been just a mark in a history book. But to those people who were alive and remember it, it’s visionary, as if they were there. 'One of the best compliments I got was: 'Gene, you took me with you.' And that’s what I wanted to do. I was there with you. That’s what television did—it took you with us when we went to the Moon. We didn’t say ‘We’ll tell you about it in two weeks.’ We took you with us. The power of television is unbelievable. That’s what television does. What you are seeing is happening at this instant. The liftoff from the Moon is a good example. You could sit in your living room listening to the commentary of Apollo 17, but you could also watch it happening at that instant.
To read Marketing the Moon now after all these years brings the deepest happiness and joy back, igniting the same pride in the American achievement in reliving those magical moments. But this time around many years have passed, we have all grown up and older, and can appreciate the immensity of this achievement so much more. This book captures the events that made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people to work together and unite for a common goal and pull it off on that scale. It is the biggest marketing success story in human history.
The book contains interesting, detailed, as well as informative photographs and facts. The only issue I have with it is that it is a challenging read in e-book format. The text is spread over three columns on each page with the photographs embedded in it as well. But since this is a NetGalley read, I do not mind. I will buy this book as a gift to friends and family. For anyone involved in the marketing world, or interested in history, and a fan of space programs, this book is for you. It is nothing but a HUGE THRILL. MONUMENTAL BLISS comes to mind!
July 20, 1969: Armstrong: That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Five sparkling stars - No pun intended!
The discussion goes back to Jules Verne, who wrote his book From the Earth To The Moon, 104 years prior to the event, and proceeds to all the marketing gimmicks employed in the 1900s in the media, to the ultimate 400,000+ people contributing products, technology, and other skills to make the moon landing possible.
This book, only 145 pages long, speaks for itself. It is a must-read for anyone interested in space. The technology used, the engineering accomplishments, the marketing machine, the ordinary Americans who made it possible, the stories of individuals involved, the Hollywood and media machine run-up - every single aspect of the space program is discussed in detail.
From the book: Our goal for Marketing the Moon has been to examine the inner workings and public perceptions of the Apollo lunar program through the lens of practicing PR and marketing professionals. We do not attempt an encyclopedic presentation but rather an analysis of what was done, and what worked and what did not.
The marketing campaign reached the entire world. If the Americans thought it was huge, they probably were unaware of the reaction in the rest of the world. It was MASSIVE news! I still vividly remember the wonderment, the magic, the incredibility of this achievement. I think I was in love with all the astronauts at once and still am!
This greatest technological achievement of the 20th century was also a global event, as an estimated 600 million television viewers watched and listened as Eagle landed on the Moon and as the first human footprints marked the lunar surface. The achievement of broadcasting live television from the Moon was nearly as astonishing as landing there. Though the buildup to this moment was long, there can be no denying that the drama was epic and the dangers very great. Within the scientific community, it was understood that nearly every possible scenario required detailed preparation, ranging from anticipating physical mishaps and catastrophes to the remote likelihood that the astronauts might return to Earth carrying dangerous microbes.
This book explains how a timeline transformed the escapist dreams of writers and artists through the centuries into a scientific goal, by applying mathematics and science to the dreams and accomplishing the unimaginable. But it also emphasizes the immense role that the media played in the endeavor.
From the book: When reflecting upon the importance of television in Apollo’s legacy, Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, was emphatic. 'If you want to market the Apollo program, put the astronauts on television and let them have a press conference on the way home. Without television, Apollo would have been just a mark in a history book. But to those people who were alive and remember it, it’s visionary, as if they were there. 'One of the best compliments I got was: 'Gene, you took me with you.' And that’s what I wanted to do. I was there with you. That’s what television did—it took you with us when we went to the Moon. We didn’t say ‘We’ll tell you about it in two weeks.’ We took you with us. The power of television is unbelievable. That’s what television does. What you are seeing is happening at this instant. The liftoff from the Moon is a good example. You could sit in your living room listening to the commentary of Apollo 17, but you could also watch it happening at that instant.
To read Marketing the Moon now after all these years brings the deepest happiness and joy back, igniting the same pride in the American achievement in reliving those magical moments. But this time around many years have passed, we have all grown up and older, and can appreciate the immensity of this achievement so much more. This book captures the events that made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people to work together and unite for a common goal and pull it off on that scale. It is the biggest marketing success story in human history.
The book contains interesting, detailed, as well as informative photographs and facts. The only issue I have with it is that it is a challenging read in e-book format. The text is spread over three columns on each page with the photographs embedded in it as well. But since this is a NetGalley read, I do not mind. I will buy this book as a gift to friends and family. For anyone involved in the marketing world, or interested in history, and a fan of space programs, this book is for you. It is nothing but a HUGE THRILL. MONUMENTAL BLISS comes to mind!
July 20, 1969: Armstrong: That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Five sparkling stars - No pun intended!
February 3, 2014
The Apollo Lunar program has been claimed to have been the greatest marketing project ever, although the beginnings for it seem to be already in the 1950s, when certain magazines were trying to popularize the idea of space exploration. This book tells the story of the Apollo missions from the marketing point of view, that isn't included in most other books about Apollo.
The authors describe well how the public was in awe at the time of Apollo 11, getting wide coverage on the media, both on TV, radio and in the print media.
However as the story continues, it becomes obvious, that it is a tale with a sad ending, as public lost interest in the program and there was no real follow-up to the Lunar program.
It's a very interesting book.
The authors describe well how the public was in awe at the time of Apollo 11, getting wide coverage on the media, both on TV, radio and in the print media.
However as the story continues, it becomes obvious, that it is a tale with a sad ending, as public lost interest in the program and there was no real follow-up to the Lunar program.
It's a very interesting book.
March 26, 2014
Lots of photos and so on in here! I imagine it'd be a big glossy book to own, although I just had it from Netgalley. It's more about marketing the space program, as you'd expect, than about the actual space aspect itself, though there's plenty of snippets of information, and it does look at the astronauts themselves as part of that marketing effort.
If you're an Apollo enthusiast, it's worth picking up, I'd say.
If you're an Apollo enthusiast, it's worth picking up, I'd say.
August 15, 2024
READING DIARY - 5
I got the real sense of the idea of how generations view things differently. I saw only the positives of the space program when growing up but not the struggle for financing. At one point NASA took up 4 percent of the national governmental budget. After landing on the moon with Apollo 11 national interest in the space program waned as more citizens grew frustrated with Vietnam.
The most fascinating thing I learned was that the idea of broadcasting the landing was an afterthought. It wasn't part of the astronauts training. It was argued that now the pictures they took hold much more value than the moon rocks they brought home.
I got the real sense of the idea of how generations view things differently. I saw only the positives of the space program when growing up but not the struggle for financing. At one point NASA took up 4 percent of the national governmental budget. After landing on the moon with Apollo 11 national interest in the space program waned as more citizens grew frustrated with Vietnam.
The most fascinating thing I learned was that the idea of broadcasting the landing was an afterthought. It wasn't part of the astronauts training. It was argued that now the pictures they took hold much more value than the moon rocks they brought home.
June 9, 2014
Any reference to 1969 in pop culture is quick to show a family gathered around their television watching the moon landing. Little do most people know that there was intense marketing preceding the launch and landing. "Marketing the Moon" is a very detailed account of the space program leading up to (and including ) the Apollo program. Any one interested in the history of the U.S. space program or marketing will love this book. Packed full of detailed facts, "Marketing the Moon" is mind-boggling in the concept that the program had to be "sold" to the American public. For insight into how astronaut's wives became celebrities and Americans warmed from the Cold War to become flag waving spectators, this book will provide you the entire background story.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.c...
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.c...
February 18, 2015
I’d make this required reading for anyone involved in the current Mars missions.
The book does an excellent job showing that all the science in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t get anyone excited enough about it to support your efforts.
It’s a heart wrenching story, both in the astounding achievements made and the tragedy of the neglect that followed.
September 6, 2016
Family members worked on several
concepts of the Apollo mission,
so I was curious how much the
PR was responsible for the
telling of the mission and
how accurate it was.
Excellent well-documented study
with the addition of multiple
photos.
concepts of the Apollo mission,
so I was curious how much the
PR was responsible for the
telling of the mission and
how accurate it was.
Excellent well-documented study
with the addition of multiple
photos.
August 1, 2019
It's an interesting perspective on an incredible set of accomplishments, but, ultimately, I had to push myself to get through it. (In the interest of taking away some of the sting of that dismissal, note that this was the book I chose to read in anticipation of traveling to Cape Canaveral to see the launch of SpaceX's CRS-18 resupply mission. This book was not the best choice for the occasion, and that's no one's fault but my own.)
I'm not sure why the following is the fact I want to record and remember, but Tang was not invented for the astronauts.
my favorite quote: "Yet, in hindsight, the lasting images the lunar astronauts bequeathed to future generations are indisputably among Apollo's most important legacies."
I'm not sure why the following is the fact I want to record and remember, but Tang was not invented for the astronauts.
my favorite quote: "Yet, in hindsight, the lasting images the lunar astronauts bequeathed to future generations are indisputably among Apollo's most important legacies."
October 28, 2020
It took more than science to get us to the moon – it took storytelling.
This book tells us that story – an important part of the Moon program not yet ever explored in this way.
Take two marketing and PR professionals with a passion for the history of the Apollo program and you get this book – part coffee table book, part marketing textbook and part history lesson.
Read more...
This book tells us that story – an important part of the Moon program not yet ever explored in this way.
Take two marketing and PR professionals with a passion for the history of the Apollo program and you get this book – part coffee table book, part marketing textbook and part history lesson.
Read more...
March 1, 2021
A comprehensive, engaging read. Well written and illustrated. The subject could be fleshed out some more, were the original materials kept, but the authors present an excellent account with what remains.
February 5, 2023
Incredibly well researched and well written but I HATE the format. It's difficult to read because of how the publisher created the columns.
July 20, 2024
Unfortunate number of typos for an MIT Press book.
January 15, 2016
This book tells the story of the early space program, NASA, the space race, set against he backdrop of those times. There is much info about, not only the marketing, but the technology, the astronauts and history. This was totally unique so there was no precedent on how to present the program. Mainly, the astronauts were portrayed as heroes, larger than life, facing exciting, unknown dangers. The contractors who developed the components created promotional brochures explaining their technology. Any vendors of products that the astronauts took with them were not allowed to state that any astronauts actually used their products but only that the product was taken on the space flight, Tang being the most notable example. Reporting on the actual flights and technology was open to all, but Life magazine was given an exclusive for the personal stories of the astronauts and their families. It has always amazed me how interest died so precipitously after the moon landing. This is a very interesting book especially for a space geek who remembers watching the moon landing while on vacation with his family. The technology and advances in medicine and so many others areas are so incredible, it is so disappointing that we are not aggressively pursuing new adventures in our universe.
I received my copy from netgalley.com.
I received my copy from netgalley.com.
March 30, 2017
This is a concise history of the Apollo program's promotion, from active government dissemination of news and information to the nearly inadvertent, but profound publicity of pictures of Earth from space. Despite lapses in editing, the text is succinct and moves the reader on, with helpful marginal notes for those who desire to research primary material further. The authors won over Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan as a contributor. This mark of acceptance is pivotal due to Cernan's place in history as the last man to set foot on the Moon, but he is doubly able as an expressive thinker and writer. Kudos to Scott and Jurek on a little-emphasized, but important summarization of Apollo historical material.
April 9, 2014
I always wondered why NASA was so good at PR compared to DoD. Now I know that NASA was spun off from DoD specifically for PR reasons.
I received a pre-release eBook from netgalley and the formatting was very screwed up. However, the basic story was there and it is fascinating.
This is a good quick view into the moon race for people interested in US history, cold war history, marketing, public relations and NASA history. It's not something to pick up to learn about rocket science or the natural history of the moon, but it is a good story.
I received a pre-release eBook from netgalley and the formatting was very screwed up. However, the basic story was there and it is fascinating.
This is a good quick view into the moon race for people interested in US history, cold war history, marketing, public relations and NASA history. It's not something to pick up to learn about rocket science or the natural history of the moon, but it is a good story.
August 5, 2015
A great look at an amazing case study for PR and brand marketing. I wish there was an epilogue that looked at some of NASA's recent attempts to get the public more excited about the space program (NASA Tweetups / NASA Socials).
May 23, 2015
Great book, review is on its way!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews