Marketing a memory of the world: Magna Carta and the student as producer perspective

From Runnymede in 1215, to parliamentary struggles, across the seas to a fledgling America, then onwards in time to many parts of the globe where it encourages human rights and shapes legal systems, the Magna Carta has been enormously influential. As a consequence, the document has been placed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, a process designed to preserve highly significant documentary archive collections. Of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta, one is owned by Lincoln Cathedral of the UK and is on display to the general visitor in Lincoln Castle. This case study provides a critical account of the marketing of this document, arguing that the experiential dimensions of the Magna Carta exhibition are poorly executed. Additionally, as presently constituted, it is postulated that the existing marketing strategy will fail to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta’s signing in 2015 and the planned national celebrations. Evidence for these claims have been drawn mainly from an inquiry led research project conducted by a group of undergraduate marketers and two tutors at Lincoln University, demonstrating the clear value of the “student as producer” approach to learning and research in marketing