Good things come to those who wait.

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In the early 1900's when every beer company was claiming their beer to be pure, adman Claude Hopkins had a different approach. When he was handed the account, Schlitz beer was ranked at number 5. His scientific approach included a visit to the brewery to watch and learn about the brewing process. Every brewer's process was pretty much the same, but who knew about the brewing process?

Hopkins believed in what is called Reason Why copy, the idea that you needed to give a consumer a reason to buy your product. While others proclaimed their beer was pure, Hopkins told the story of how Schlitz was purified and he proclaimed the bottles were, "Washed with live Steam!" In no time Schlitz sales skyrocketed.

Hopkins' approach became known as the "preemptive claim," one that established a product's uniqueness. It didn't have to really be unique, but if you claimed it first, it was yours.

Hopkins took something that every company did and made it his selling feature. But what about when your consumers perceive a product as having some kind of problem. Can you make that problem an asset?

Well, yes you can. A little spin and some creative ads will do it.

In the early 90s Guinness was facing losses in Pubs. The times had changed and no one had time for the long wait for the head of a Guinness to settle. Cue the spin doctors to spin a tale of the virtue of "The Wait"

They told us it takes 119.53 seconds to pour a pint and that there is a right way to pour one. They created a ritual, a story, a reason why you should wait for a Guinness. We are creatures of habit, and rituals may just reassure us in an uncertain world.

The ad above cleverly places the different glasses to show the evolution of the wait. Even more effective are the numerous ads that extol the virtue of the wait.

Check out the Tipping Point



And if you want to see how they made the commercial, see
The Making of the 20 Million dollar Tipping Point commercial.



On the subject of waiting, this week was an important one, one that many of us have waited 8 long years for- CHANGE! Good things come