Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S8E21 - Brand Envy 2019

Episode Date: May 23, 2019

This week, it’s our annual look at brands I admire. They may not be the coolest or the biggest brands – but they’re fascinating studies in marketing. From a record store with a sense of humour to a cartoon with virtually no dialogue, this year’s list gives me a mean case of Brand Envy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. We'll see you next time. new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 8, 2019.

You're so king in it. You're loving it and it's now. Your teeth look whiter than no nose. You're not you when you're hungry. You're a good hand with all teeth. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. Envy. It's one of the seven deadly sins and one of advertising's most powerful strategies.

Much advertising is based on generating envy for a new car or stoking desire for the latest smartphone or coveting the expensive watch on your brother-in-law's wrist. Envy boils its green broth down to, why you and not me? In the movie Amadeus, envy is the central plot point. Salieri is a well-respected composer in the court of Emperor Joseph II. Composing does not come easy to Salieri. He struggles to write his music and prays to God to make him a better composer. Then, along comes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In the formal court of the emperor, Mozart is a giggling, lusty, loud intrusion. Yet, he is mesmerizing because his music is extraordinary. Mozart writes his four-hour operas effortlessly on music sheets without corrections. It all pours out completely intact.

As Salieri says at one point, it's as if Mozart is taking dictation from God. At first, Salieri admires Mozart's brilliance. Then, that admiration ripens to dark envy. Salieri decides to sabotage his rival. He whispers in the emperor's ear that Mozart is untrustworthy. Salieri cuts off Mozart's teaching revenue by spreading rumors that he molests his students.

He makes sure Mozart's magnificent operas only have short runs. Yet, through all this, Mozart continues to write astonishing music. Salieri may have mediocre talent,

but his ear for music is acute. He recognizes Mozart's genius. Eventually, a penniless Mozart begins to drink heavily and becomes ill. As he lies on his deathbed, he dictates his final composition to Salieri, who plans to take credit for it when Mozart dies. The story is told in flashbacks. Salieri is now an old man living in an institution for the insane.

His punishment is to live a long life, tortured by the fact his music is being forgotten while Mozart's becomes more and more famous. If you've ever wondered why the movie is called Amadeus and not Mozart, the answer is contained in the title itself. Amadeus means

loved by God. Salieri believes God has ignored him while favoring an undeserving brat. And that is the source of his seething envy. Welcome to my annual envy episode. I'm happy to report my envy is not seething, nor is it rooted in sabotage. But rather, my envy has moved in the opposite direction. It has settled on admiration. My list may not include the coolest brands or the biggest brands,

but I admire them for other reasons. Maybe it's because they've lasted so long in this disposable world. Or they made a big impression on me when I was a kid. Or maybe it's just because they are so utterly unique. But whatever the case, each of the brands I talk about today gives me a serious case of brand envy. You're under the influence. In July 1918, a Torontonian named Roy Hill took a gamble. He borrowed $432 from a life insurance policy and $1,500 from his parents, who took out a second mortgage on their home to do it,

to start his own business. He called it the Canadian Pad and Paper Company. Hill worked 16-hour days out of his Wellington Street office in downtown Toronto. He was the company's manager, salesman, shipper, and paper cutter, and did it all using rented equipment. In the evenings, his wife would streetcar to the factory to help package the shipments. Within two years, the Canadian Pad and Paper Company outgrew its offices

and moved to a larger space nearby. Slowly but surely, Hill's gamble paid off. Business was thriving. Hill's cardboard-covered notebooks could be found in schools everywhere. Following the purchase of another envelope company in 1958, Roy Hill changed the name of the company to Hillroy Envelopes and Stationery Limited. The business moved yet again to, appropriately, an elementary school-looking

building on Eglinton West. Roy Hill, who remained chairman of the board well into old age, passed away in 1978, leaving behind a Canadian legacy. Hilroy's primary colored exercise books have been a staple in Canadian classrooms

for the better part of a century. And Hilroy notebooks were a staple of my early school days. Here's the remarkable thing. The brand still produces 14 million of those notebooks a year, making it the largest stationery company in the country. It takes just 45 seconds to make a Hilroy notebook,

but it takes years to build an iconic brand. It's amazing that a paper company can not only survive, but still thrive in a paperless era. And for that reason, Hilroy gives me brand envy. The place to go, Rhino Hey! The place to go, Rhino Hey! You're listening to a crazy little jingle written by the owners of a crazy little record store that eventually became a crazy good record label.

Rhino Records. It started out as an independent record store in Los Angeles in 1973. One day, owner Richard Foos hired an enterprising employee named Harold Bronson. The two of them shared a love of alternative music and had a flair for marketing. Not long after, Harold became a partner. Richard and Harold shared a great sense of humor, and they used that humor to market their little offbeat record store. For example, they came up with a contest to get rid of a stack of albums

by the Partridge family's Danny Bonaduce that no one was buying. So, they initiated their first promotional effort by paying customers five cents to take the album home and an additional 15 cents if they promised to listen to it. In order to rid the store of unsaleable bargain bin records, they contrived a guess-how-many-records-are-in-the-trash-can contest. A few desirable records were put on top of a trash can full of undesirable records. Customers had to guess how many albums were in the trash can

and, if correct, won the entire pile. People loved the promotion so much it proved to be a perennial favorite. Because both Richard and Harold were underachievers in school, they held a C Students Day, where anybody bringing in a report card where the grade was C or lower received a free album. The Rhino staff once picketed outside their own store. Usually it's disgruntled employees that picket, but this time the staff picketed their customers,

saying that customers were unfair to them because the store didn't have enough of them. Hilarious. They staged Unemployment Day, where they invited unemployed people to drop by, show their unemployment card, and receive a free album from an unemployed rock group. On Thanksgiving, they sold their turkey albums for 40 cents a pound. All that highly humorous, rebellious marketing attracted a very loyal customer base. Richard and Harold also got to know many of the performers whose music they loved, showing them interest and respect.

In that era, many artists were routinely ripped off by their original labels. That notion inspired Rhino to start their own record label. The idea was simple. They wanted to reissue

old songs that were loved but hard to find. And they wanted to do it with the highest quality. Original songs remastered for superior sound, great photographs

for the album covers, fact-filled liner notes, accurate composer credits, and fair royalty rates. So Rhino Records approached the big record labels and asked to license the out-of-print hits the majors had collecting dust in their vaults. It was a brilliant idea.

Soon, Rhino was reissuing bands like the Turtles, the Monkees, the Trogs, the Everly Brothers, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding. Both Richard and Harold

loved comedy records too, so they reissued acts like Stan Freeberg, Henny Youngman, and Alan Sherman. Hello, mother. Hello, father. Here I am at

Camp Granada. Rhino was always inventive in its packaging. For example, they issued their famous Golden Throats series, featuring the worst records made by celebrities, like William Shatner's Lucy in the Sky

with Diamonds. Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade sky. They created a series called Have a Nice Day, Super Hits of the 70s, a super successful 25-volume collection. They came up with the idea for a High Five series, issuing the top five hits of popular bands. They issued Rhino box sets

for genres like disco and punk. The press called Rhino Records the Smithsonian of the music business. That was a compliment, because Rhino was preserving the Smithsonian of the music business. That was a compliment, because Rhino was preserving the hits of the past in a way big labels didn't. As a matter of fact, a Rhino Records release

became a kind of good housekeeping seal of approval when it came to reissues. It was a brand that meant something, not only to the artists whose careers they kept alive, but to the fans who loved them for it. It was a brand that stood for quality

and very funny original marketing. And that's why I tip my hat to Rhino Records. And that humor reminds me of a certain

roadrunner. To see behind the scenes of Under the Influence, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Terry O'Influence. For a master episode list, go to terryoreilly.ca. And we'll be right back after this message. New year, new me. Season is here and honestly, we're already over it. Enter Felix, the healthcare company helping Canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year. Weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. It can be about tackling

genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix gets it. They connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who will create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at Felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X.ca. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not.

Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. When a friend of ours was going through chemotherapy recently, her daughter emailed a cosmetics company called

Glossier to ask what makeup would work on her mother's newly sensitive skin. Without hesitation, Glossier asked for her address, then sent her $200 worth of products, absolutely free. When I heard that story, I had to find out more about this company. When Vogue assistant Emily Weiss launched her blog, Into the Gloss, in 2010, she had one main objective, to rummage through the bathrooms of America's most influential women. Into the Gloss took readers not only through the doors, but inside the medicine cabinets of activists, athletes, designers, models, and even

a White House deputy chief of staff. Weiss asked them about their makeup, skin care, and morning routines. But she noticed a common thread among many of the women she approached to interview. They said they were low maintenance, barely used any products,

and issued an adamant disclaimer that they weren't experts. But when Weiss got there, every woman had a cabinet full of products and an elaborate regime of her own. That's when she realized the beauty world was shrouded in secrecy and shame. Women felt like they had no right to claim they knew anything about makeup.

And if they did, somehow it would appear vain or high-maintenance. Weiss felt typical beauty brands fed into that thinking by telling their customers they had to learn from the experts. When, in reality, women learn how to do makeup on their own faces. So she set out to create a company that bucked the system, one that encouraged women to share their routines and products with one another, used real people in its advertising, and created a shame-free community.

That was the gap in the $500 billion beauty market. With that insight, Weiss was able to raise $100 million in venture capital. She called her company Glossier. Glossier is a cult brand that sells everything from sunscreen to mascara. Their mantra is skin first, makeup second, creating products that don't look or feel heavy, a stark contrast to the vast majority of the industry.

Another thing that sets Glossier apart is their marketing. They're a direct-to-consumer brand, meaning their products are sold only through their own company, which takes full advantage of all customer touchpoints. Everything from their packaging to social media posts to pop-up shops is bathed in a signature pale pink. An interesting choice, because pink today is often avoided by brands as it carries the weight of female-gendered stereotypes. But Glossier chose it for that reason.

Glossier Pink is intended to be an empowering nod to feminism and the reclaiming of a color that was once considered girly, all to make pink cool again and gender neutral. Glossier products arrive at your door in pink Ziploc bags, ones customers use again and again as makeup bags, and post about regularly on Instagram. Packages also include sheets of Glossier stickers that makeup lovers stick onto their products, laptops, mirrors, and phone cases, resulting in continuous free marketing. Weiss wanted the stickers to be a conversation starter among women,

a secret handshake that can turn total strangers into friends. Glossier's advertising features a diverse group of both models and non-models. The company requests feedback on its releases, often reworking formulas based on customer input. They respond quickly to all comments, messages and emails. How does all this smart marketing impact the company? Well, from 2015 to 2016, Glossier saw a 600% year-over-year growth. Then, Glossier went from being online only to opening brick-and-mortar locations

in both L.A. and New York. This year, Glossier achieved what Forbes calls unicorn status, meaning they're a privately held startup company valued at over a billion dollars, a milestone Weiss reached at just 34 years of age. When Weiss approached venture capitalists about her idea, here was her elevator pitch. I want to create a beauty brand whose sweatshirt you want to wear.

Many people proudly wear Glossier sweatshirts and they would never consider wearing one from Revlon or Olay. Glossier is that rare brand. It's unique, it's honest and their customers identify with the values of the company beyond the products.

That is the secret to building a meaningful company. And that's why it's on my list of brands I admire. We know how life goes. New father, new routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Chuck Jones' father was a serial entrepreneur, and he was serially unsuccessful.

He had a dream of striking it rich, so he would strike at a lot of different schemes. He would start every new venture the same way. He would optimistically purchase boxes of new stationery with the company letterhead. And every time

the business failed, he would quietly give the stacks of stationery to his children. As a result, the Jones kids inherited a seemingly

never-ending supply of the finest drawing materials imaginable. The kids were also forbidden, actually forbidden, to draw on both sides of the paper. Because, of course, their father wanted to get rid of the failed letterhead as soon as possible. So Chuck Jones happily drew his way through childhood, puberty, and right into adulthood.

He was heavily influenced by the comedians of his youth like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but he was also influenced by one very specific Canadian. He loved laughing out loud to the writings of Stephen Leacock. Years later, that humorous doodling paid off when he joined the Warner Brothers animation division there Chuck Jones in a room full of the most talented animators in history dreamt up a list of legendary characters that included Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Pepe Le Pew and many more But the Chuck Jones animation I love the most is the coyote versus the Roadrunner cartoon titled Fast and Furious was created in 1949.

Hard to believe they were created that long ago because technically speaking, they are remarkable. Interesting to note that all the cartoons Warner Bros. Animation did back then were made solely for theatrical distribution. For one simple reason. Television wasn't invented yet. That first Roadrunner film was not a big hit. As a matter of fact, it would be another three years before Chuck was allowed to make another one,

because Warner Brothers wasn't sure it was a viable idea. As you may know, the coyote, genius Frustratus, is trying to catch the Roadrunner, Accelerati Incredibus, so he can have him for dinner. And the Acme Corporation is the sole supplier

to Wile E. Coyote's exploits. From jet-propelled roller skates to giant slingshots, Acme shipped overnight. There is an absolute logic to all the contraptions the coyote uses, but there is always one tiny thing wrong. And that tiny thing leads to disaster. Here's what I didn't know. The coyote's ineptness was born of Chuck Jones' own frustration with tools.

His wife and daughter would run and hide whenever Chuck reached for the tool drawer at home. He was inept at everything requiring implements. He said even hanging a picture would end in disaster. That is my life. I own very nice tools and have no idea how to use them. Take this hammer. That's a saw.

That's what I mean. For me, hanging a picture always turns into a four-hour lesson in drywall repair. Realizing incompetence was the inspiration for The Coyote was an epiphany to me. No wonder I related to it so profoundly. I was watching myself. This is interesting too. The cartoon was called The Roadrunner Show,

but Chuck Jones said the key was to evoke sympathy for the coyote. To achieve that, he had two main rules. First, the coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures. And second, there can be no dialogue. I mentioned a few weeks ago that the Roadrunner cartoons were a masterclass in sound effects for me, who spent most of my career in the sound business. The secret to the brilliant sound effects was incongruity.

The genius behind the sounds was a man named Treg Brown. He understood that if your eye saw one thing and your ear heard another, it was side-splittingly funny. For example, in one episode, the coyote gets his leg caught in a harpoon and gets dragged willy-nilly over cacti, under boulders, bumping and bouncing off every obstacle possible. But never once do you hear a logical sound effect. Instead, you hear flying springs, broken bottles,

small explosives, popping balloons, and railroad crossing bells. So creative, so funny, so exquisitely timed. As Chuck Jones said, timing is the electrical magic of humor. If the definition of a great brand is one that is instantly recognizable, is utterly unique in a highly competitive field, and has crazy staying power, the Roadrunner show is a gold standard.

It is love the world over. Maybe the rule of no dialogue was the ultimate branding decision because works in any language. Each of the brands I mentioned today couldn't be more different.

A notebook manufacturer, a record label, a makeup store, and a cartoon. Yet they all have so much in common. They each made a beautiful dent in a very competitive world. Three of those brands passed the ultimate test. They have lasted decades by surviving fickle economies, changing tastes, and digital disruption. And Glossier used a simple insight to pull off a different trick. It has reached a billion dollars in sales in only a few years. You may say to me that the digital era is better for the environment, but I say there is something to be said for cursive writing

and creative doodling in Hilroy notebooks. I admire Rhino Records not just for their burning desire to preserve great music, but I love their marketing ideas. Why isn't there more humor like this in retail marketing? Why do stores have to be so sober and boring and predictable? Then there's the great Chuck Jones. He not only entertained us, he taught us that great humor

tickles your heart, not just your ear. And while the film Amadeus took great liberties with history, it does leave us with one vital message. It's important to recognize the Mozarts in a world

full of Salieri's. When you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terrastream. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound engineer, Keith Oman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Co-writer, Sydney O'Reilly.

If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy previous Brand Envy episodes from past seasons. You'll find them free in our archives wherever you download your podcasts. See you next week. Under the Influence. That's all, folks.

Hey, I like your style. I'd like your style even more if you were wearing an Under the Influence t-shirt. Just saying. You'll find... In case nobody's told you weight loss goes beyond the old just eat less and move more narrative and that's where felix comes in felix is redefining weight loss for canadians with a smarter more personalized approach to help you crush your

health goals this year losing weight is about more than diet and exercise it can also be about our genetics hormones metabolism. Felix connects you with online licensed healthcare practitioners who understand that everybody is different and compare your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach your goals. Start your visit today at Felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X.ca. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals.

No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Find them on our shop page at terryoreilly.ca slash shop.