Issue #10 — Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Posted by Denny Hatch
How a FREE GIFT Built a Multi-million Dollar Business
When I was growing up, driving in
the hot summer without car air conditioning was something you got used to.
Imagine a family of five or six on vacation driving across the South Dakota Badlands in 110-degree heat with no air conditioning!
Imagine a family of five or six on vacation driving across the South Dakota Badlands in 110-degree heat with no air conditioning!
In
1931 at the height of the Great Depression, a young pharmacy graduate and his
wife arrived in the tiny town of Wall, South Dakota—“the geographical center of
nowhere.”
With
$3,000, Ted and Dorothy Hustead opened a drug store on Main Street. They agreed
if they could not make a go of the business within five years, they would bag
it and try something else.
Wall
was on the main road to a great tourist attraction—the Mount
Rushmore Monument—56 miles away.
But
day after day, season after season, the Husteads watched cars driving through
town. Virtually nobody stopped.
Dorothy Hits the Jackpot
One scorching day in 1936 Dorothy
Hustead had a drop-dead brilliant idea: put signs along the highway offering
free ice water
Ted apparently did not think much of
his wife’s brainstorm, but he was willing to try anything. According to Hustead
family lore, when Ted got back from putting up the first signs, cars were
already lined up out front with thirsty tourists taking advantage of the free
offer.
Wall Drug instantly became a legendary stopping-off place. It now serves up to 20,000 travelers a day. As Ronald MacArthur wrote in a January 1988 issue of The International Herald Tribune:
Wall Drug instantly became a legendary stopping-off place. It now serves up to 20,000 travelers a day. As Ronald MacArthur wrote in a January 1988 issue of The International Herald Tribune:
Although its name signifies a drugstore, it’s unlike any
drugstore anywhere else in the world. It’s a museum, restaurant (with authentic
buffalo burgers), pharmacy, jewelry store, camping outfitter, soda fountain, tourist
information center, Indian-book store, Western souvenir shop, Western art
gallery (with 150 paintings), cowboy boot and Indian moccasin shop, and Western
wear and equipment store, all wrapped into one.
When Ted figured out customers came to
Wall Drug as a result of roadside signs, every visitor was given a sign to hang
in the local community. Signs sprouted all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
South
Dakota GIs serving overseas used to request signs, and soon Wall Drug was
famous all over Europe and the Far East.
Thanks
to the Husteads, Wall, SD has more swimming pools per capita than any other U.S. locale!
Takeaway to
Consider
“Always
try to convert a marketing disaster into a marketing opportunity.”
—Lester Wunderman, The Wunderman Agency
—Lester Wunderman, The Wunderman Agency
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count: 401
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Sounds alot like the "South of the Border" amusements on I-95. The owner himself paid for the interchange so he wouldn't be bypassed going south or north.
ReplyDeleteReg, thanks for taking the time to comment.
DeleteIn high school, my history teacher Leonard James said to the class: “How much is a glass of water worth?” At age 16, we all muttered a glass of water wasn’t worth anything.
“Okay,” said James, “and what would you pay for a glass of water if you’re in the Sahara desert in 120-degree heat?” That basically was the genesis of this blog post.
It has been from a wonderful story for a long time and thanks for reminding us of it. But there is another product that earned gazillions starting with a simple free offer.
ReplyDeleteThe text (I couldn't paste it here but will gladly supply it to anyone who wants it) "FREE. This card entitles you to one glass of CocaCola".
Nothing like thirst on a hot day to build a cool business.
Peter, Thank you for taking the time to comment.
DeleteI vaguely recall the Coca-Cola freebie story. And would like to see it. dennyhatch@yahoo.com
Any chance you could include your email, so readers can contact you directly?
Thanks.