Asa Candler bought John Pemberton's coca-cola formula for $2,300 in 1891 and turned it into a global brand through aggressive marketing and the slogan "Demand the Genuine." He scaled distribution nationwide, protected the formula's uniqueness, and later funded Wesley Memorial Hospital and Emory University.
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Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Modeling the Masters. I believe that the fastest and most effective way to grow your business is to model the strategies of people who've already done what you're trying to do. So today we're going to look at the success behind Coca-Cola's Asa Candler and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success. Asa Griggs Candler was born on December 30, 1851, in Villa Rica, Georgia, and was the 8th of 11 children. He grew up during the time of the American Civil War. Candler's father was a well-established merchant and property owner, but the war would take its toll on the family. They often had no more than the bare necessities. Candler's formal education began when he was 5 years old, but was sporadic throughout. When he was 10 years old, he left school and spent his time working on his father's farm. While he could have opted to attend Emory College, he instead let his brother warren, attending his place. Candler was anxious to enter the working world. He had an interest in the medical field, but with no money for medical school, he decided to pursue a career as a druggist. He took on an apprenticeship with two pharmacists in his hometown, but his earnings were meager. So Candler decided to move to Atlanta in search of better opportunities. In 1873, with just $1.75 in his pocket, Candler made the move to Atlanta and landed a job with a local druggist, George J. Howard. His early success and work ethic led to his promotion as chief clerk. However, after falling out with Howard, Candler decided to strike out on his own and become his own boss. Candler used to get migraines, and one day they were so bad that he was willing to try whatever it took to get rid of it. He turned to a little-known product that had been produced by fellow Atlanta-based druggist John Smith Pemberton. Pemberton had created something called Coca-Cola. His own personal fizzy brain tonic and headache medication that combined cocoa leaves and kola nuts. He'd been selling the drink for 5 cents a glass at his own drugstore. It was created in his backyard in a 3-legged 15-gallon pot that stood over a fire, and when Candler sampled it, he was immediately hooked. In what appeared to be a rash decision to onlookers, Candler decided at once to sell his entire stock of drugs, paints, oils, glass, and fancy clothes, He sold off everything he could and raised roughly $50,000. He initially invested $500 into Pemberton's company, but by the end of 1891, he had managed to gain control over the entire Coca-Cola product for just $2,300. He used the rest of the money to continue manufacturing and marketing the drink. Coca-Cola was born. Action Item #1: Make people remember your product. Many entrepreneurs think that if they build a great product, sales will take care of themselves. The fact is, an average product with great sales and marketing will always outperform an excellent product with no sales and marketing. You need to get the word out about what you're doing, or have someone on your team do it for you. Before Candler took over Coca-Cola operations, Pemberton had been doing business on a small scale. He ran a local company with a local customer base, and had little chances of growing up much larger at the rate he was going. His only promotional effort was an oilcloth with the sign "Drink Coca-Cola" that hung in the local drugstore. Candler, however, knew that there were billions more thirsty people out there. —he just needed to find a way to reach them. It was through a strategy of aggressive and memorable marketing initiated by Candler, one which continues to this day, that Coca-Cola became the multi-billion-dollar company it is today. According to Candler, "I knew I had found something that other people would want. Distributing Coca-Cola through other pharmacies was a way to reach more people. I had to convince other pharmacists to sell my drink because they had their own drinks." Action Item #2: Be Unique. Your customers are continually bombarded with offers for products and services. If you want prospective customers to pay attention to you, you have to be unique. You need to do something that makes you stand out from everyone else. You may know how great your product or service is, but you have to convince your customers that you're not just like everyone else. In 1820, British author Charles Colton wrote, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." But it is doubtful whether Candler would have agreed. When the rising popularity and success of Coca-Cola became increasingly apparent to outsiders, there was no shortage of entrepreneurs ready to take advantage. Hundreds of copycat beverages were released on the market within weeks. The need to protect his great product and his strong brand were Candler's motivations for ensuring both were unique enough to stand out. It was for this reason that Candler tried to focus his advertising around the authenticity and originality of Coca-Cola. From urging customers to "Demand the Genuine" and "Accept No Substitute" Candler pushed the idea that only the real Coca-Cola would satisfy your thirst. According to Candler, Coca-Cola was so popular that many others were trying to copy it. Because Coca-Cola was successful, I had to come up with an idea that would make the product stand out from the copycats. The product sold itself. I just wanted to remind people it was one of a kind. Action Item #3: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As entrepreneurs, it's important to be continually testing different aspects of your business to try and get better results. Make sure though that you run your test on a small scale and that it beats out whatever is working before you make a dramatic switch in how you run your business. Coca-Cola executives in the 1980s would have done well to follow in the example of its founder. In growing his company, Candler understood the importance of not messing with perfection. As an increasing number of copycat beverages found their way into the market, Candler might have changed the shape of his bottle or altered his marketing message, but he never once made the crucial error that his later successors would. After creating the perfect drink, he never again changed its secret recipe. Candler knew that in an increasingly competitive industry, it was important to stand out and to keep his customers on their toes, but he did not dare mess with what he saw as excellence. After all, if it was not broke, why fix it? However, Coca-Cola executives tried to replace the old with the new. As a result of launching New Coke, the company's market share tanked. Candler was proven right again. Change is sometimes bad, especially when you try and change the perfect drink. According to Candler, you can change the marketing, but never change the drink. Keeping the Coca-Cola recipe secret meant it would always be unique. Asa Candler was a strong businessperson and aggressive when it came to all of his ventures, but he believed personal wealth should benefit the community. Unheard of in his day, he would challenge other wealthy businesspeople to match everything he gave to charity. A lot of his money went towards the building of Wesley Memorial Hospital, which is now known as Emory University Hospital. Candler did a lot for education and is considered the founder of Emory University. According to one story, he would not associate with other businesspeople that did not share his point of view about giving back to the community. The feeling was proven in public when he slapped one of the richest men in Atlanta at the time for not giving money to help expand Emory University. This story ran in all the local newspapers and was front-page news for more than a week until the wealthy businessperson finally gave $12,500 to the university and did it publicly. Thank you for joining me for another edition of Modern Masters. If you like the video and you want to see more, please give it a thumbs up below. And if you have a comment or question, feel free to leave it below. I always like seeing those come in. So thank you, and we'll see you on the next episode.
