Tupperware – It all started with Fish Powered Boats

One of the most intriguing characteristics of entreprenuers is the refusal to give up. To believe that even if this idea doesn’t work, the next one will and if that doesn’t then the next one will..

Earl Tupper is not too well-known in modern day business. He did after all die in 1983 by all accounts a sad and broken man. Yet think about that name a bit more and the one major success in his entrepreneural life is known to us all – Tupperware.

Tupperware changed the way we shop. And in turn became a multi-million $ industry creating thousands of mini empires in the homes of suburban housewives.

Earl Tupper was an inventor not blessed with much success. But he believed in himself long enough to find the one ‘bright idea’ that would mark his life. Born in 1907 in New Hampshire, the young Earl was a moment waiting to happen. Commercial life began as a schoolboy selling his parents’ farm produce door-to-door but all the time the crazy ideas were coming.

New procedures for removing burst appendix, new improved garters and a boat propelled by a large fish in the wrong place at the wrong time! Earl’s design used clamps to strap the boat to this aquatic engine. Creative maybe, crazy without a doubt but commercial  …. definitely not.

Still the young inventor believed. But he needed to live and joined Dupont’s plastics division after his landscaping business had gone down like so many others in the Great Depression.

As the saying goes – every cloud has a silver lining. Tupper by accident was in the right place at the right time.

Plastic at this time was brittle and to put it bluntly, stank. But Tupper gradually realised its potential as he learnt more about it. Eventually finding a lighter, more flexible plastic he was able to create small cartons and tubs. They didn’t stink either.

The rest is history. Well not quite. No matter how good the idea, Tupperware’s moment hadn’t yet come. With truly innovative products, the idea can be too ahead of the market. The market needs time to learn about the product, to be convinced.

The first containers were launched in 1945 and the patented seal two years later, based on the operation of a paint tin lid. Yet post war America was not sure. Suburbia was not quite ready for Ice-Tup Molds and Wonder Bowls. The product that, along with Formica kitchen tops and Bakelite radios, came to symbolise 1950/60s America had not yet found its time.

Housewives were not familiar with plastic and found the ‘burp’ seal difficult to use. Overnight success was not the way Tupperware was being described.

But then along comes a feisty Detroit housewife, Brownie Wise.. and the way we shop changed forever.

But Brownie deserves a blog entry in her own right – more than just an add-on to the story of Earl Tupper.

Putting the Spikes on

Time for an update on the current idea and first step towards building the empire. While still in the hands of the developer it is thankfully moving rapidly closer to going live.

There is a name for it which I think is quirky, distinctive, catchy & fun – but you’ll have to wait for it to be revealed.

Some background to the idea though.

Online collaberation, sharing, social communities, web 2.0 – whatever you like to call it, it’s all the rage at the moment. The remarkable growth of My Space, You Tube, Digg, FlickR, Stumbleupon and others just shows that if an internet idea hits the right spot, success can come very quickly.

Of course, for each of these high profile winners there are probably hundreds of others that fall by the wayside surfing their way through staggering amounts of money.

Yet all these household names have relied on kids, teenagers and young adults to spread the word. This group are clearly the early adopters when it comes to new technology and gizmos. With them on board, viral marketing takes hold.

Yet this same group are also the early exiters. The excitement of the ‘in thing’ soon wears off especially when Mum & Dad jump on board. Loyalty is in short supply and the next generation of kids and teens are looking for something different – something that their older siblings weren’t ‘into’ and that Mum & Dad haven’t yet bought ‘The Idiot’s Guide to..’

So where does that leave my social community? What will set it apart. Well from a techie point of view, probably nothing.

But in terms of who it is targeted at? The tagline for it at the moment is ‘My Space for Grown-Ups’ (News Corp will shoot me down in flames if I try to use that when it goes live but maybe there’s a bit of PR in that – David & Goliath)

Anyway, My Space for Grown-Ups sums it up pretty well. A social community (not business – that’s another project), that encourages interaction, relationships and friendships among the much larger population base who may be slower at taking up new ideas but who are far more loyal. And no it’s not a dating site.

Too often we assume that new internet businesses have to be cutting edge to be successful. Well, there’s a whole demographic out there who aren’t so bothered about the latest ‘cool’ idea, they just want to talk, make friends, learn a bit more about each other and have some fun. 

And that demographic covers everyone from age 25-105 (give or take a few years).

Back to Alex – debt + 5 months = $1m = Million Dollar Homepage

So how does someone turn a quirky idea into a global moneyspinner? With no marketing budget, no real business experience and, if he’s honest, no real expectation other than to make a few $.

Let’s start with the idea itself and a brief look at its history.

Take a single page on a web site and divide it into a 1000 x 1000 pixel grid. With a little bit of scrolling, a single web page will then displays 1 million pixels. Alex’s idea was then to sell each pixel (minimum 10 x 10 block ie 100 pixels) for $1 to advertisers wishing to place their logo/ ad on the site.

Each mini-image would then carry a link back to the advertisers web site.

The overall effect was an explosion of colour, a collage of adverts.

Alex hope was to raise a few hundred $ maybe slightly more, to help fund his degree course at the University of Nottingham. He didn’t really expect anyone to buy the pixels except maybe friends & family. As such, Alex had no marketing intentions let alone a plan. If Million Dollar Homepage was to be successful then word-of-mouth was going to be at its heart.

Launched in August 2005, the first 20 x 20 block sold within a few days and gradually the site was selling a few blocks a day. A hastily written press release to the local media was  all that the ‘campaign’ amounted to but within a few weeks the UK national press had picked up on the story while the site was a regular feature of many popular blogs and other web sites.

I first came across it via the business networking site Ecademy when Alex had earned about $14000. At the time I thought this is different, it might be interesting to follow its progress. Other Ecademists then mentioned it as they came across it -viral marketing in action.

Imal Wagner , a PR expert in the USA picked up on the story as well and helped Million Dollar Homepage become a Stateside phenomenon as well as gradually around the world.

By the end of 2005 all the pixels had been sold and the last 1000 pixels were auctioned on Ebay for $38100 bringing the total revenue to $1,037,100 – quite an achievement in just 5 months. Copycat web sites were everywhere – most destined to fail.

By now Alex had had to leave University after just one term, to deal with all the press & media attention. Subsequently he has launched other ideas & spent time getting his life in order after a hectic 6 months.

So why was Alex so successful with Million Dollar Homepage?

Firstly, a novel idea. Collages are familiar to most of us, certainly from school days, yet creating a collage of adverts and charging per pixel was definietly new territory for the web.

All too often people claim to be selling something completely new, radically different but rarely is this true. Most ‘new’ products are just old ideas with a new face. It may be new to the chap staking his business on it but rarely is it truly new to the market.

Million Dollar Homepage was new.

Secondly, and a natural consequence of new, is being first to market. First mover advantage is often cited as a key factor in long-term success. There is no direct competition, any PR generated will be all about the first one and the opportunity is there to establish a loyal fan base and not be squeezed on price.

Yet, being first is in reality not often a good thing. For sure the kudos is there but so are the problems associated with launching something new. Developments costs per unit will be high, mistakes are costly, the market may need educating and convincing and initial excitement will soon turn sour when sales are slow to take-off.

By contrast, the follower watches and learns without the cost. And a clever follower will identify a weakness and exploit it. Maybe on price, perhaps marketing. Quality may be poor or just something simple like the packaging.

Some people would say the Japanese economy was re-built after WWII by being a follower.

But In Alex’s case, being first to market clearly helped. The copycat sites have failed badly.

The next reason was simplicity. Million Dollar Homepage is not difficult to understand, it is a simple concept – buy pixels for $1 each and advertise your business. Sometimes an idea that is simple to its creator is too complex for its potential customers. Consumers are impatient – the product or at least its message must be simple and straightforward. Consumers aren’t interested in the amazing tech stuff going on in the background, they want to know what a product will do for them. Is it useful? Is it fun?

The fourth reason for Alex’s success was viral marketing, word-of-mouth. Internet based ideas are perfect for this exploiting the ease with which “I can tell you about something.” Word spread quickly about MDH via e-mail, blogs, chat rooms before reaching the printed press, TV and radio.

The product itself though must be able to capitalise on this quickly spreading message. MDH was created in the UK but could be bought in the USA, Australia, Ukraine …It’s no use if the world is talking about you’re product but you can only deliver it in your backyard. That’s the chance your competition is looking for.

And finally…and most importantly.

A story to tell. Million Dollar Homepage may have been successful if set up by someone else but Alex had a story to tell which caught the attention of the media. Heading off to University, Alex was worried about falling into debt. He wanted to try and avoid this.

Million Dollar Homepage was a cheap and quickly set-up attempt to do this.

So what made it a story? Just that. A student trying to avoid debt.

It was personal and topical. Student debt and paying for education is a big issue around the world not least in the UK. Add to that a cute idea and a dose of good timing and you have $1m in 5 months.

Plus a very happy bank manager!

Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t.

John Wanamaker was a retailing giant. His chain of department stores based in Philadelphia was an innovator in many different ways and at its height encompassed 16 stores before eventually becoming part of Macy’s.

To many people though, he is probably more well known for one quote, the famous advertising axiom:

“half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”

This is the dilemna faced by businesses of all sizes. They know they need to advertise but all too often the results are questionable and sometimes downright misleading. Whether it’s the local butcher spending £300 on a local newspaper ad or Microsoft blitzing planet earth with the Vista message, the questions remain – is it working? and by how much?

Ad agencies, marketers will point to a raft of data, research and tracking devices but in the end John Wanamaker is still just about right.

Which half works?

I was driving through the Oxfordshire countryside a few days ago and in the distance I could see a delivery van making its way across the ridge that I was making my way towards.

Front painted green, rear yellow. Without even being close enough to know which firm it was, City Link sprung to mind. Even though I’ve never used them for courier services, I have seen the bold colour scheme on many occasions. Brand indentity that works.

In John Wanamaker’s score book, a big tick.

A few days earlier, another delivery van but a very different result. A white van, similar size with a quirky addition to its front – “RIP Swift”.

Swift are also one of the biggest courier companies in the UK and you have to admire the boldness of the other delivery company in challenging Swift.

So where’s the problem?

Nothing wrong with the ambition and inventiveness. Just that I haven’t a clue which courier company have Swift in their sights!

They’ve done a good job reminding me about Swift just forgotten to remind me about themselves!

And to top it off, they don’t know that this bit of cheeky promotion hasn’t worked – I don’t know who to tell it ain’t working!

Marketing on a Shoestring

It’s a familiar story. Small start-up, spent what money they have developing their product, the 2am finishes are quickly losing their appeal and the bank manager has recently discovered the delights of Old Joe’s sandwich shop for his BLT. Your sandwich shop!

Just one problem to overcome?

How to create some interest in the product? How to tell more than just a few people at a network meeting about their great new gizmo?

Without a night-time raid on the Gates’s mansion, how do our budding entreprenuers create awareness for and excitement around their product?

Well thankfully, some start-ups do have access to a sizeable marketing budget although just having the money to spend brings no guarantees. Just look at Boo!

If we’re honest, very rarely do we have a radically new product or service that is so different or innovative that it hits the headlines itself. Occasionally it happens. Sometimes the timing is just right and it captures the moment, but for most businesses getting publicity is hard…very hard.

Your potential customers are being targeted by your competitors (and yes, we all have competitors … we’re competing for the same £ and $ of consumer spending which our customer can decide to spend with us or not) and are growing weary from all the marketing, advertising and sponsorship requests that pervade their everyday life. TV, radio, internet, magazines, newspapers – consumers everywhere are on the receiving end all day long.

So why would your marketing stand-out? Your product may be fantastic but it’s almost useless if only your best mate and the accountant know about it.

You have to get the message out there. But how, with little money and when every other business is doing the same thing?

Well, quirky is good. Having a story to tell that is more than just about the product helps.

Finding a different way to grab the attention of your target customers is what sets the run-of-the-mill entreprenuer (and marketer for that matter) from the one that just might hit the ‘home run’.

A while back I met Alex Tew. Not well-known to most people but almost certainly his web site is. The Million Dollar Homepage in late 2005 and early 2006 became one of the most talked about web sites in the world for a few months and in the process helped Alex earn $1m in a matter of months!

So how did a young student with little business experience and just a primitive idea become the talk of daytime TV, internet chat rooms, news programmes and newspapers around the world?

How did a young student, just hoping to raise enough money to pay off his student debts, earn enough to change his life and receive the ultimate compliment – a host of copycat web sites and software programs to do the same as MDH?

Well as the the chat show hosts often say …… ‘time for a word from our sponsors’.

….Not quite. But you will have to wait until next time!

The Little Green Fella

Funny how ideas sometimes come into view again unexpectedly. Back in November I blogged about Roark McMaster and his Q Top (keeping cucumbers fresh) which had set the Dragon’s chuckling on Dragons Den.

No investment but a lot of fun and a job offer for Roark from Peter Jones.

http://meandmybigideas.wordpress.com/2006/11/07/

http://meandmybigideas.wordpress.com/2006/11/16/

I’ve stayed in touch with Roark and know that he still receives regular enquiries from people wishing to buy the oddly shaped kitchen helper.

However, checking the stats for this blog yesterday I was surprised to see how many people were suddenly looking for and reading about the Q Top and checking out the You Tube video of Roark’s memorable performance in the Den.

Yesterday’s stats for the blogs about Q Top had spiked big time! Not the normal trickle but a Niagara style torrent – well almost.

Checking with Roark there is definetly some action happening but not for general viewing at the moment. So the doubts expressed by the Dragons and my initial scepticism may well have been misplaced.

Just proves once again that the experts don’t always get it right and sometimes quirky is just what the market wants.

This one looks worth following – maybe the world really is ready for The Little Green Fella.