A revolutionary sneaks through the shadows of Wittenberg, carrying a booklet, a hammer and a nail. He is out to make a statement. The midnight cobblestone streets ring with the sound of the hammer, as the booklet is nailed to the door of All Saints’ Church. This is the beginning of a movement that will rock a continent.
It is autumn in the year of 1517 and the printing press is still a fledgling innovation. Though it has been around for over 50 years, people are only just beginning to understand its potential. The revolutionary is on the cutting edge of this understanding.
The booklet causes such a stir in the local community that the revolutionary and his pals decide to print and distribute the booklets throughout the educated circles of Germany. It is originally published in Latin, making it accessible primarily to the clergy. However, in January of 1518 they decide to publish the booklet in German, in order to reach a wider audience. Within two weeks of publication the booklet spreads across Germany. Within two months it has spread all across Europe.
Some consider virality to be an exclusively internet-based phenomenon. Yet here we have this revolutionary in the Middle Ages who effectively used booklets to go viral. In the span of two years he went from an obscure theologian to a widely known figure whose lectures people travelled for many miles to see. While we might not care one way or the other for his ideas, we can certainly respect his marketing strategy.
While we understand that the booklet is no longer a nascent innovation, we also understand that it is tried and true and has great potential in the promotion of any endeavor. In the midst of the digital hurricane, there is a resurging desire for the handheld, the personal and the tactile. At Print Shoppe we seek to help our customers capitalize on this resurgence. Using modern design principals and precise rhetoric, we will elevate the booklet and watch your business go viral.
