Professor Walter's History Lessons

Innovation before its time

Clarence Saunders was born in 1881.  He was one of the most influential grocers of the 20th century whose impact is still felt today.  His first great breakthrough came with the founding of his grocery store Piggly Wiggly in Memphis, Tennessee.  His store was a break from tradition and introduced many innovations centered around the new concept of self-service.  Prior to that time grocers would collect the groceries for the customer and return with them to ring up the sale.  Saunder's store instead allowed the customer to collect their own goods and then bring them to the register using shopping baskets.  One of the keys to his success was the layout of the store which forced customers to view everything on sale, giving birth to impulse grocery shopping.

After a risky stock gamble failed, Saunders left Piggly Wiggly, bankrupt.  Saunders started another grocery store but it went bankrupt during the great depression.  He started work on an automated grocery store, but stopped that and made wooden toys during WWII.  Afterwords he founded Keedoozle which was a fully automated store, reminiscent of modern vending machines.  Customers would use punch-tape to select merchandise, and then after paying for it the goods would be delivered via conveyor belt, but it was unreliable and failed in 1949.

Then until his death in 1953 he worded developing plans for Foodelectric which was the pioneer concept for today's self-checkout system.  He described it as,

"The store operates so automatically that the customer can collect her groceries herself, wrap them and act as her own cashier. It eliminates the checkout crush, cuts overhead expenses and enables a small staff to handle a tremendous volume... I can handle a $2 million volume with only eight employees."

His concept never saw realization due to his death, however his insights paved the way for today's grocery stores and the now ever popular self-checkout stands.

-Professor Walter

What to do when the market falls out

The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise and fall of the home CB radio market.  At the forefront was Radio Shack which was America's leading CB radio retailer.  Then in 1977 the CB market crashed, and Radio Shack, where CD Radios and accessories accounted for over 20% of sales, was left without a "wow" product that would drive sales and pull new customers into their stores. 

In search of a new direction they turned efforts toward the newly emerging computer market, and on Wednesday, August 3rd 1977 they announced the new Tandy TRS-80 personal computer.  Radio Shack, which was unsure of the new product, anticipates sales of 600 to 1000 in the first year.  The TRS-80 was the most expensive single product Radio Shack had ever carried at a price of $599.  Buyers had to put down a $100 deposit to order their system.  Much to the surprise of the executives at Radio Shack the product was a success beyond their expectations.

In the first month 10,000 units were sold.  Radio Shack was unable to keep up with the flood of orders and customers would often have to wait months for their computer after putting down the $100 down payment.  The TRS-80 which would become known as the Model 1 when the Model 2 and 3 came out was produced until January 1981 when it was discontinued due to the fact it could not meed the FCC's radio frequency interference rules.  Over its life over 250,000 units were sold which was 197,000 more units than Radio Shack had ever intended to produce. 

-Professor Walter

The longest-running jingle in advertising history

The advertising jingle was born in 1926 with the General Mills radio ad titled, "Have you tried Wheaties".

Have you tried Wheaties?
They’re whole wheat with all of the bran.
Won’t you try Wheaties?
For wheat is the best food of man.
They’re crispy and crunchy
The whole year through,
The kiddies never tire of them
and neither will you.
So just try Wheaties,
The best breakfast food in the land.

The success of this jingle led to others and soon just about every product had its own tune.  One of the reasons for this quick adoption of this form of advertisement was NBC's prohibition of direct advertising.  This technique successfully put the product's name into the buyers head without violating those terms. 

The jingle made the jump from radio to television and continues to this day, often written by musical performers who have had prior successes such as Devo.  As for the longest running advertising jingle, it can still be heard on television after originally airing almost fifty years ago in 1962.

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound?

A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's Slinky.

It's Slinky, it's Slinky. For fun it's a wonderful toy.

It's Slinky, it's Slinky. It's fun for a girl or a boy.

It's fun for a a girl or boy!

-Professor Walter

 

Good to the last drop!

In 1873 Joe Cheek, a grocery salesman, became interested in coffee and created his own unique blend.  He sold his new coffee and the Maxwell House Hotel, which was a prominent Nashville, Tennessee hotel which hosted seven presidents and other prominents guests in its lifetime, began to serve it to its guests.  This affiliation is what named the coffee Maxwell House.

In 1907 Theodore Roosevelt was a guest of the Ladies Hermitage Association at Andrew Jackson's homstead known as The Hermitage.  While there he was served Maxwell House coffee, and upon receiving a refill he commented that is was, "Good to the last drop!".  That phrase became the slogan for Maxwell House coffee and is still in use today.

-Professor Walter

So what is the Europe's game bird?

It all started with a simple question, "Is the golden plover Europe's fastest game bird?".  That question was at the core of a debate at a shooting party in 1951.  Sir Hugh Beaver was involved in the dispute, but couldn't find the answer in any of the books in the library.  Then in 1954 another argument started on which was faster, the golden plover or the grouse.  Beaver thought that questions like these must form in homes and pubs across the globe, and that putting together a book that held the answers would be a great tool to promote the product of the company he worked for, the Guinness Brewery.

Beaver turned to the twins Norris and Ross McWhirter to compile to book.  The two had been working as sports journalists and ran an agency supplying facts and figures to Fleet Street newspapers.  They duo compiled the facts into a book that would become The Guinness Book of Records in August of 1954.  One thousand copies were printed and given away to promote Guinness beer.

Once the book went into regular printing Beaver was surprised to find it on the British bestseller lists.

"It was a marketing give away—it wasn't supposed to be a money maker"

But, it was a runaway success.  The next year it was launched in the US and sold 70,000 copies.  Soon more editions followed settling on a once a year pattern, always published in October to line up with Christmas sales.  The brothers cultivated their success into a TV series called Record Breakers where they answered questions posed by children.  Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975, after which Norris continued until 1994 when he retired from the show.

Today the Guinness Book of World Records has become a household name.  The book, and related entertainment venues such as museums are now owned by the Jim Pattison Group which also owns Ripley Entertainment (of Ripley's Believe it or Not).  The world records have evolved, eliminating ones that put the contestant at serious risk such as alcoholic consumption or sword swallowing.

-Professor Walter

Clara Ford's Car

Henry Ford is considered one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.  His innovations spawned a company that bears his name and is still strong today.  Throughout the years his wife, Clara Ford, was a guiding influence.  Yet, she did not drive the hallmark Ford product, the Model T.  She found it too hard to start and operate as did many women of the time.  The vehicle of choice was the electric car. 

At the time the traditional gas powered car was hard to start and control which meant that few could drive them.  Since the electric car was easier to drive they appealed more to women.  With the female buying trend the automakers adapted their cars to appeal to women.  Features such as vase holders and floral prints were included.  As a result the electric car was seen as a feminine vehicle which in turn contributed to it's downfall.  Once the gas powered cars became more user friendly they took over since they appealed to both sexes.

In keeping with the times Clara Ford, wife of the founder of The Ford Motor Company, drove a competitors vehicle manufactured by Detroit Electric.

-Professor Walter

A product of desperation

The Coca-Cola corporation was successful throughout the world leading up the WWII, but when war broke out Coca-Cola found it's links with its subsidiaries severed.  One of these was located in Germany where there was a trading ban preventing the imports which included Coca-Cola syrup.  Max Keith, who was in charge in Germany, decided to create a new beverage with materials available in Germany.  There included whey and pomance which Keith described as the "leftovers of the leftovers".  During a brainstorming session the name for the new brand was decided.  The team was told to us their imagination (Fantasie in German).  One of the salesman, Joe Knipp, picked the name at that moment "Fanta". 

Today may erroneously believe that the Nazis invented Fanta.  It was invented by a German, Keith, who refused to join the Nazi Party despite pressure to do so.  Keith was placed in charge of all beverage plants by the Nazi government, but refused to change the name and preserved the German branch of Coca-Cola despite the opportunity to earn large sums of money bottling under his own name.

Today Fanta is one of the worlds best selling brands with Orange as its most successful flavor.  Brazil is currently the largest consumer of the beverage.  Its fans include Pope Benedict XVI, whom it is said, consumes three to four cans a day and attempts to convert visitors.

-Professor Walter

The power of elevator music

Traditional elevator music is slow and soft, designed so that it can be played in a loop.  Often mocked in films and used as a short comedic break, the music has earned a place in American culture, yet few are aware of it's intended purpose.  The reason this music is used it that the slower wordless tunes has a psychological effect of slowing shoppers down, making them more patient, spend more time browsing.  The result is higher sales. Quicker music encourages shoppers to go faster and in turn buy less.

-Professor Walter

Charles F. Kettering - Protecting the people's hands

Charles F. Kettering was born in Loudonville, Ohio on May 8th 1876.  Despite his poor eyesight, he earned a degree from Ohio State University in electrical engineering in 1904.  His life would be rife with innovations, but one of his greatest would eliminate hand injuries, broken arms and deaths.

In the early days of the automobile the internal combustion engine was started via a hand crank.  If the engine backfired or misfired, the handle could kickback and break a thumb or even worse the person in question could be killed.  In 1899 Clyde J. Coleman filed the first patent for an automatic starter but it wasn't suitable for regular automotive use.  It wasn't until Charles F Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) invented the first reliable and useful electric starter.  In 1912 the Cadillac was the first vehicle to carry the innovation.

That single innovation saved more thumbs and arms than can ever be counted, but it also had another great impact.  Women were considered too fragile and weak to operate the crank starter.  Suddenly women were the ones behind the wheel and soon brands such as Plymouth were marketed toward them.

-Professor Walter

How do you name a soda?

In 1958 RC Cola released Diet Rite, their first Diet Soda to strong success.  Soon other companies followed suit.

In 1963 the Coca-Cola corporation had developed their first diet soda.  The marketing research department decided to utilize the IBM 1401 computer to accomplish the task.  The revolutionary IBM 1401 was a mainframe computer released by IBM in 1959 and stayed on the market until 1971 which had the capability to utilize punch cards or magnetic tape.  The marketing research department used the computer to create a list of over a quarter million four-letter works with one vowel and added names suggested by the company's staff.  All "inappropriate" words were removed and from a final list of about twenty names Tabb was chose.  During development it was shortened to Tab. 

Tab was a success in name and sales.  Unfortunately for Tab when the FDA banned cyclamate in 1969 the formula had to change, then again when 1977 when it looked like the FDA would ban saccharin more changes came.  In 1982 Diet Coke was released and Tab's sales declined.  To further impact sales, the formula never matched the original flavor and was changed repeatably over the next two decades.  The current Tab uses saccharin as the dominant sweetener and has a flavor that more closely matches the original.

-Professor Walter