OTIS: THE WORLDS MOST POPULAR ELEVATOR

Breaking Down The Strategy

Do you have ever see a brand and just wonder how in the world it got so big?

I’m not talking about the Nike & Apples of the world - we all know their story.

I’m talking about the brands that manufacture everyday items like toilets, zippers, or elevators.

Because this week I found out that out of the estimated 3.8M elevators around the world 2.2M of them are made by a company called Otis.

That includes the elevators in the:

• Eiffel Tower

• Empire State Building

• World Trade Center

• The Burj Khalifa

• CN Tower

And many many more.

Chances are if you’re reading this you’ve been in an Otis elevator.

So what in the world does this have to do with Marketing?

Well, before 1853 elevators were pretty deadly. They were widely used for moving objects, but would regularly break.

On the odd occasion people had tried to use them there had been major accidents where people plummeted to their death.

So quite rightly, people opted for the stairs.

Then in 1884 Elisha Otis - the founder of Otis - invented the elevator safety break which would make the elevator 100x more safe for humans to travel in.

But there was a problem…

No matter how great his invention was, no one was buying it.

Until he pulled off a stunt that would completely change the way buildings are built.

Here’s the stunt + the 3 marketing lesson we should all learn from it:

1) THE STUNT

In 1883, Otis couldn’t sell an elevator to save his life.

In fact, for the entire year of 1882 he sold a petty total of 3 elevators, then another 7 in 1883.

A sorry sight for a man with a revolutionary invention.

He was at at a loose end and losing hope… so he decided to partner up with the infamous promoter P.T. Barnum (read my full breakdown on P.T. Barnum HERE).

P.T. Barnum tells Otis that they only way people will understand the value of his invention is if they see it working in action.

But no one wants to see an elevator breaking system demonstration.

So Barnum tells Otis to up the stakes to get peoples attention.

They decide that they are going to go to the Crystal Palace in NYC and in front of 1000s of people have Otis stand in an elevator while his assistant cuts the elevator cable.

In onlookers eyes, they were about to watch Otis fall to his death.

But the crowd gathered, Otis’ assistant cut the cord, the elevator dropped 2 feet and then his breaking system kicked in.

“All safe here Gentlemen, all safe”, Otis pronounced to the crowd.

The crowd erupted in cheer.

Over the next decade, Otis sold 2000+ elevators to all the greatest companies around the world.

But more so, he completely changed how a city looks.

As soon after the elevator was deemed safe for people, large buildings quickly turned into skyscrapers.

Which wouldn’t be possible with Otis’ invention and this demonstration.

2) THE MARKETING LESSONS

A) Make It An Event

Humans love a spectacle, and they cannot resist an event.

Otis could have easily opted to create leaflets explaining the breaking system and included all the stats from his own tests.

He could’ve even turned up to the event and handed them out.

But no one would’ve listened.

Instead, he made it an event and had 1000s of eyes on him and 1000s talking about his system on the way out.

B) Great Hook

Otis could have put a set of ceramics on that elevator or even a chimp.

But he didn’t, he made the stakes as high as they could get - he put himself on the platform and it’s those high stakes that hooked everyone.

It’s the same in films.

Notice how the bad guy is always going to destroy the whole world? That’s because the higher the stakes, the more people are hooked.

C) Unquestionable Proof

Otis could’ve told people how safe he’d made his elevators, but people would have laughed him off.

So he showed them how safe they are with unquestionable proof.

And nothing sells a product as fast as proof does.

All in all, a truly awesome marketing play and one that literally changed the landscape of how we build cities.

Now, the next time you get in an elevator look out for that Otis logo!

Right, time to head bed. Early flight in the morning.

Hope you enjoyed this one.

Until next Sunday.

— Niall

This has been a breakdown of Otis’ marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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