Lesson #1: Make Your Marketing Message Memorable
Lesson #1: Make Your Marketing Message Memorable
Pemberton had been selling his soft drink to Jacob’s Pharmacy for five cents a glass. When Candler bought the rights from him, his first plan of attack was to expand that base of distributors. Candler immediately began marketing the syrup to other pharmacists. Initially, many of the drugstores were reluctant to sell Coca-Cola. After all, they each already had their own beverages of the same sort. Not one to take ‘no’ for answer, however, Candler refused to back down.
By selling his own pharmacy and living frugally, Candler used that money to begin making deals to other pharmacists that proved irresistible. He offered pharmacies their first barrels of syrup for free, and also gave out coupons to their customers for complimentary tastes of the drink. If it was not a hit, there would be no losses to the drugstores. Candler also began putting the distinctive Coca-Cola script on everything from clocks, fans, trays, and urns to calendars and apothecary scales in an effort to saturate these stores with the Coca-Cola brand. Taken together, these initiatives helped to overcome the reluctance on the parts of both the pharmacists and customers.
Once a pharmacist agreed to carry his drink, Candler also entered into a deal with them whereby each new soda fountain owner had to provide Candler with the names of 128 influential individuals in the local community – after the number of ounces of syrup in a gallon of Coke concentrate. Candler would then mail letters to these 128 people announcing his new product and offering coupons for a free glass at that pharmacy.
Candler’s strategy worked. From 1892 to 1916, 10 percent of adult Americans tried a free Coca-Cola through this program. While the company lost money on the first kegs it distributed for free, once customers got a taste of Coca-Cola, they kept coming back for more. It was not long before he had more orders than he needed to offset his expenses. Over time, Candler used this same strategy in expanding his operations throughout the U.S.
In addition to giving away samples of his product for free, Candler also engaged in a series of aggressive advertising campaigns. In 1892, the company’s advertising budget was $11,401, a large sum of money for the time and for a regional product. Candler used ads that featured pretty girls to convey the image of youth and happiness, and placed the ads not only in pharmacies but also on billboards, the sides of bars, and in full-page newspaper ads. Candler also dropped the idea of Coke as a medicine, after he realized it was getting in the way of the image of the drink as something delicious and refreshing.
In little time, customers were asking for Coke by name and pharmacists had no choice but to carry the product. Candler also hired ambitious salesman who would not only pitch his product across the country, but also engage in quality control – checking on such things as the carbonated water machinery in each new customer’s pharmacy.
Today, the Coca-Cola Company continues Candler’s innovative marketing techniques by affiliating themselves with worldwide sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup and introducing such memorable ads as “Always Coca-Cola” and the lovable Coca-Cola Polar Bear. Candler was a marketing genius who saw opportunities for expansion anywhere and everywhere he went.
Lesson 1 Make Your Marketing Message Memorable
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Before Candler took over Coca-Cola operations, Pemberton had been doing business on a small scale. He ran a local company with a local customer base and had little chances of growing it much larger at the rate he was going. His only promotional effort was an oil cloth with the sign “Drink Coca-Cola” that hung on a local drugstore. Candler, however, knew that there were billions more thirsty people out there; he just needed to find a way to reach them. It was through a strategy of aggressive and memorable marketing, initiated by Candler but one which continues to this day, that Coca-Cola became the billion dollar company it is today.
Pemberton had been selling his soft drink to Jacob’s Pharmacy for five cents a glass. When Candler bought the rights from him, his first plan of attack was to expand that base of distributors. Candler immediately began marketing the syrup to other pharmacists. Initially, many of the drugstores were reluctant to sell Coca-Cola. After all, they each already had their own beverages of the same sort. Not one to take ‘no’ for answer, however, Candler refused to back down.
By selling his own pharmacy and living frugally, Candler used that money to begin making deals to other pharmacists that proved irresistible. He offered pharmacies their first barrels of syrup for free, and also gave out coupons to their customers for complimentary tastes of the drink. If it was not a hit, there would be no losses to the drugstores. Candler also began putting the distinctive Coca-Cola script on everything from clocks, fans, trays, and urns to calendars and apothecary scales in an effort to saturate these stores with the Coca-Cola brand. Taken together, these initiatives helped to overcome the reluctance on the parts of both the pharmacists and customers.
Once a pharmacist agreed to carry his drink, Candler also entered into a deal with them whereby each new soda fountain owner had to provide Candler with the names of 128 influential individuals in the local community – after the number of ounces of syrup in a gallon of Coke concentrate. Candler would then mail letters to these 128 people announcing his new product and offering coupons for a free glass at that pharmacy.
Candler’s strategy worked. From 1892 to 1916, 10 percent of adult Americans tried a free Coca-Cola through this program. While the company lost money on the first kegs it distributed for free, once customers got a taste of Coca-Cola, they kept coming back for more. It was not long before he had more orders than he needed to offset his expenses. Over time, Candler used this same strategy in expanding his operations throughout the U.S.
In addition to giving away samples of his product for free, Candler also engaged in a series of aggressive advertising campaigns. In 1892, the company’s advertising budget was $11,401, a large sum of money for the time and for a regional product. Candler used ads that featured pretty girls to convey the image of youth and happiness, and placed the ads not only in pharmacies but also on billboards, the sides of bars, and in full-page newspaper ads. Candler also dropped the idea of Coke as a medicine, after he realized it was getting in the way of the image of the drink as something delicious and refreshing.
In little time, customers were asking for Coke by name and pharmacists had no choice but to carry the product. Candler also hired ambitious salesman who would not only pitch his product across the country, but also engage in quality control – checking on such things as the carbonated water machinery in each new customer’s pharmacy.
Today, the Coca-Cola Company continues Candler’s innovative marketing techniques by affiliating themselves with worldwide sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup and introducing such memorable ads as “Always Coca-Cola” and the lovable Coca-Cola Polar Bear. Candler was a marketing genius who saw opportunities for expansion anywhere and everywhere he went.
Lesson 1 Make Your Marketing Message Memorable
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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