Earl’s Billion Dollar Brand Idea!

Did you know that the BandAid had its birth in the kitchen of a woman who was inexperienced at cooking and hurt herself frequently? Her husband, Earle Dickson, was an employee of Johnson and Johnson. He found himself getting plenty of experience bandaging his new wife’s hands as she was cooking, and realized that if he could prepare bandages in advance, she could apply them herself without making him interrupt his work. Earle began experimenting with ways that his wife could bandage herself. Tape existed, and gauze existed, so attaching the two was easy. The hard part was keeping the gauze sanitary and the tape from drying out. Luckily, Earle realized the importance of not giving up. Eventually, he discovered that crinoline fabric protected the bandage. It was a huge success not only with his wife, but also for Johnson and Johnson, the company he worked for. The Band-Aid marked the beginning of the company’s meteoric rise to success. In 1921, the invention received the name BandAid, which it still bears today. This is a perfect example of the brand name becoming a generic name. No one asks for an adhesive bandage; they ask for a Band-Aid. This story touches on all three of today’s key insights: Why preparing to win is to fight over 80% of any business battle in the marketplace. Why it’s better to be a problem-finder than a solution-finder. Why a brand name can be the acknowledged as the trade name. Can you see how each of these points applies to the story of the BandAid? If not (or even if you can), tune into this episode to learn more details and gain a deeper understanding of all the lessons you can learn from the fascinating story of this invention. In This Episode: [03:20] - We hear about the three key insights that Alex is going to explore over the course of today’s episode. [04:55] - Alex shares the story of the invention of the BandAid, demonstrating that necessity really is the mother of invention. [07:08] - Attaching a gauze pad to a piece of sticky surgical tape was the easy part of the solution, Alex explains. [10:12] - Alex points out that the BandAid created the meteoric rise of Johnson and Johnson. [11:23] - Being a problem-finder is better than being a solution-finder, we learn. [13:27] - Alex lists some other generic products that have come to be recognized by the original trade name. [14:21] - Alex digs into the topic of purpose versus true purpose, using the example of the honeybee. [16:37] - We return to Winston Churchill’s commencement speech at Harvard, before Alex lists some powerful figures who never gave up. [19:30] - Let’s talk about generic versus brand name! Alex describes the power in the brand or trade name becoming the generic name. [20:30] - The Alexism for this episode is this: “There’s no such thing as a self-made entrepreneur.” [22:25] - Alex quickly reviews the insights from today’s episode of All Selling Aside. [24:15] - Please take a moment to review this podcast by writing out your biggest takeaway from this episode at this link. [25:44] - In honor of episode #46 of All Selling Aside, you’re invited to explore Alex’s four-part video e-course (normally $197) for free! Head to this link to get started. Links and Resources: Alex Mandossian Alex Mandossian Fan on Facebook Alex’s Friday Live events MarketingOnline.com Marketing Online 4-Part Video Training Series Alex Mandossian on YouTube Alexisms by Alex Mandossian All Selling Aside on iTunes Alex Mandossian’s free live Friday show Earle Dickson Johnson & Johnson Crinoline Perry Belcher All Selling Aside Episode 42: Reminiscing About the Future Buckminster Fuller