When Tom Put a 2x4 Into The Blender - Why The Best Product Doesn’t Always Win
/George Wright had been hired in 2006 to help the fledgling company with its marketing. The Blendtec company was started 11 years earlier by Tom Dickson, who had studied engineering and had previously built grinders for making bread. His expertise helped build one of the best consumer blenders on the market. However, sales were slow and the company was on the verge of going out of business.
Shortly after George was hired, he was walking by the test lab one day when he saw something unbelievable. Tom was shoving a wood board into a blender and blending it! Sawdust went flying everywhere! Tom frequently used the lab to test the blenders’ capability by blending various items. George immediately had an idea - and the “Will It Blend?” YouTube campaign was born.
In the short, self-produced episodes, Tom (now sporting a lab coat) would blend various objects and materials which would prove the quality and durability of the Blendtec blenders. Marbles, golf balls, a can of Coke, a rake, various food items…the videos went viral and the word-of-mouth helped drive huge sales. Fifteen years later Blendtec has millions of views on YouTube and is a leader in the consumer blender market.
The point of the story is that the best product doesn’t automatically win. It required awareness and branding for consumers to learn about Blendtec before it could increase sales and capture market share.
Point #2 - The best content is useful, educational, inspiring or entertaining - like the Will It Blend YouTube channel. Blendtec has over 865,000 subscribers and millions of views. The content is simple, with inexpensive production, but it’s entertaining and engaging. Don’t believe me, see for yourself: