Underrated Marketers/Business People

by Kurt
22 replies
Who are some of the business people and marketers that don't get the credit they deserve?

I think at the top of my list is JC Penney. He was the first retailer to have set prices. He would price items at the lowest price he was willing to sell them.

Before Penney, everything was a barter. I can't imagine how it'd be today if we had to barter every single thing.
#marketers or business #people #underrated
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    I just started watching Trust a few hours ago, Kurt. JP Getty was wacky, bizarre and flat out weird, and his fam fell apart, but business-wise he seemed a modern day - for the time - JD Rockefeller. He made some shrewd moves that get overshadowed due to his bartering his grandson's ransom, having a pay phone in his 72 room mansion for guests, womanizing, etc.

    He also became fluent in Arabic to made unprecedented moves in the Middle East oil game. Talk about speaking your business partner's language.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Jimmy Lai.



    While even Western companies are kowtowing to Beijing,

    he talks the talk and walks the walk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    Another reason I respect JC Penney is that after he went public he was at a board meeting and they had a vote whether to start a JC Penney credit card. The vote was 49-1 for.

    The one vote against was JC Penney. His reason was that, while he knew credit would help their profits, he felt that it would hurt a lot of people that would get into debt. We can debate whether credit would have been good or bad, but Penney did what he thought was right even if it cost him money.

    Penney profoundly changed the way virtually all retail stores do business by having set low prices and he put ethics over profits. A highly underrated business person IMO.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      The one vote against was JC Penney. His reason was that, while he knew credit would help their profits, he felt that it would hurt a lot of people that would get into debt. We can debate whether credit would have been good or bad, but Penney did what he thought was right even if it cost him money.
      .
      That's leadership. A superior thinker.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    When former football player Brian Bosworth played for the Seahawks in the 1980s (big rival of the Broncos then) Boz teased Denver hero John Elway, calling him all sorts of names like "Horse face".

    Next game was played in Denver. Bronco fans hated Boz, There were people selling "Boz is a Bozo" tee shirts in the parking lot.

    Turns out, Bosworth was the person behind the tees and made over $250,000 that day, which was really a lot of money then. He created a market and then filled it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post


      Next game was played in Denver. Bronco fans hated Boz, There were people selling "Boz is a Bozo" tee shirts in the parking lot.

      Turns out, Bosworth was the person behind the tees and made over $250,000 that day, which was really a lot of money then. He created a market and then filled it.
      It also shows that Drama is currency. Grudges sell tickets. And being hated is almost as good as being loved. Why? Because they are emotionally involved.

      Box (and Pro-wrestling and MMA) tickets are sold partly because the fans want to see their hero fight. But also because they want to see someone they hate...get beat up.

      When I used to sell in the home, the easiest sales were to people that already knew who I was and knew about the product, and had good feelings about it. My second most profitable group was people who were angry. upset, distraught. Someone with a major complaint.

      Why? Because they were emotionally involved. The hardest people to sell are the disinterested. And even anger shows a level of great interest.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kurt
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        It also shows that Drama is currency. Grudges sell tickets. And being hated is almost as good as being loved. Why? Because they are emotionally involved.

        Box (and Pro-wrestling and MMA) tickets are sold partly because the fans want to see their hero fight. But also because they want to see someone they hate...get beat up.

        When I used to sell in the home, the easiest sales were to people that already knew who I was and knew about the product, and had good feelings about it. My second most profitable group was people who were angry. upset, distraught. Someone with a major complaint.

        Why? Because they were emotionally involved. The hardest people to sell are the disinterested. And even anger shows a level of great interest.
        Muhammad Ali grew up a fan of pro wrestler Gorgeous George. Ali noted how everyone that bought tickets to see GG paid to see him lose...then Ali stressed BUT EVERYBODY PAID. Ali said many times he owed a lot of his self-promotion to GG.

        What I like most about the Boz story is how he took advantage of this human condition and specifically created a full business plan exploiting it. He deliberately and with purpose went on TV and called the most popular player on the other team names...just to sell shirts.

        I'm a life-long die-hard Bronco fan, but I had to laugh knowing Boz got over on all of us. It likely worked better on us than any team fan base other team at the time.
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

          Muhammad Ali grew up a fan of pro wrestler Gorgeous George. Ali noted how everyone that bought tickets to see GG paid to see him lose...then Ali stressed BUT EVERYBODY PAID. Ali said many times he owed a lot of his self-promotion to GG.
          Do you know why Houdini was so famous? He was a decent escape artist, and a mediocre magician.

          What he did was create drama.....he went out and created crowds watching him do stunts. Why? To create newspaper stories to promote his shows.

          When he did his stage shows, he made the escape tricks look exhausting...as though it required every ounce of his power. He sold.

          And that's why we think of Houdini as a legend, and the hundreds of far better technicians (at the time) are mostly forgotten.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
            Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

            Do you know why Houdini was so famous? He was a decent escape artist, and a mediocre magician.

            What he did was create drama.....he went out and created crowds watching him do stunts. Why? To create newspaper stories to promote his shows.

            When he did his stage shows, he made the escape tricks look exhausting...as though it required every ounce of his power. He sold.

            And that's why we think of Houdini as a legend, and the hundreds of far better technicians (at the time) are mostly forgotten.
            Houdini would get out of his restraints in seconds (he had a hidden key) but stay underwater for minutes to build suspense.

            Cool guy.

            Alex
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            • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
              Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

              Houdini would get out of his restraints in seconds (he had a hidden key) but stay underwater for minutes to build suspense.

              Cool guy.

              Alex
              He had learned how to hold his breath for a few minutes. But if you read descriptions of his stage show......The water torture escape? The top simply came off while he was behind a curtain. He would sit in a chair, behind a curtain...for several minutes, letting the audience think he was drowning....and then appear on stage exhausted and collapse. It was the drama that made him famous.

              Yes, he could get out of restraints in seconds. He was a talented escape artist. Mostly with picks he had hidden, and he had massive forearms, he would flex them when the cuffs were put on. Most of the cuffs would just slide off when he relaxed. The same with being bound. He could hollow his chest, which loosened the bonds. He could also dislocate a shoulder to escape a straight jacket.

              One trick he would use when being locked up in jails...was he kept a small pick set with tools, hidden under a fake flap of skin under the arch of his foot. He could also throw up tools he had swallowed earlier. He could tie and untie knots with his toes.

              But his stage show of magic? Common tricks with mechanical props. But jumping into a river, handcuffed? being dropped in a ice covered river in a safe? Balsy stuff.
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              • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
                Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

                <snip>
                One trick he would use when being locked up in jails...was he kept a small pick set with tools, hidden under a fake flap of skin under the arch of his foot. He could also throw up tools he had swallowed earlier. He could tie and untie knots with his toes.
                <snip>

                Balsy stuff.

                My mistress is gonna freak out! Thanks Claude Houdini.
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              • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

                But his stage show of magic? Common tricks with mechanical props. But jumping into a river, handcuffed? being dropped in a ice covered river in a safe? Balsy stuff.
                Similar to my opinion of Jackie Chan. Most consider him a stuntman, but I think of him as more of a daredevil.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
      Originally Posted by Serenity Ackley View Post

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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    How about Ali as an underrated marketer/promoter? He grew up a poor black kid in KY and became the most recognizable person in the World for a couple of decades.
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    • Profile picture of the author socialentry
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      How about Ali as an underrated marketer/promoter? He grew up a poor black kid in KY and became the most recognizable person in the World for a couple of decades.
      He's probably overrated. I always thought Ali was a bit of a dick and used the excuse of marketing to cover up for his excesses. Much like Mayweather did by giving himself the "Money" moniker.

      I think the reason for Ali's success as marketer is that he simply was the best boxer of his era which would give anyone serious accolades.

      Also: the most recognizable sportman? Maybe. The most recognizable? That's more then debatable.The only people that seem to make this claim are Americans,lol.

      E.g.Sports in general doesn't have anywhere near the same prestige in Asia as in the US, and boxing was never near as big as kickboxing or traditional martial arts. Even in Western culture, I think boxing is really more of an anglo-saxon and latino thing.

      In Ali's era, Mao Zedong I think is the most likely contender of most recognizable if only because he controlled the PRC.

      Now there is one American boxer who is way underrated as a promoter.

      That man is Mike Tyson.
      There's a Mike Tyson character in Street Fighter II which shows he truly had international recognition.

      He has a cartoon named after him (--- arguably the best TV show the West has come up with in the last decade.).

      There were researchers that sought undiscovered tribes in Africa and somehow they would already know about Mike Tyson.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kurt
        Originally Posted by socialentry View Post

        He's probably overrated. I always thought Ali was a bit of a dick and used the excuse of marketing to cover up for his excesses. Much like Mayweather did by giving himself the "Money" moniker.

        I think the reason for Ali's success as marketer is that he simply was the best boxer of his era which would give anyone serious accolades.

        Also: the most recognizable sportman? Maybe. The most recognizable? That's more then debatable.The only people that seem to make this claim tend to be Americans,lol.

        E.g.Sports in general doesn't have anywhere near the same prestige in Asia as in the US, and boxing was never near as big as kickboxing or traditional martial arts. Even in Western culture, I think boxing is really more of an anglo-saxon and latino thing.

        In Ali's era, Mao Zedong I think is the most likely contender of most recognizable if only because he controlled the PRC.

        Now there is one American boxer who is way underrated as a promoter.

        That man is Mike Tyson.
        There's a Mike Tyson character in Street Fighter II which shows he truly had international recognition.

        He has a cartoon named after him.

        (--- objectively the best TV show the West has come up with in the last decade.).

        There were researchers that sought undiscovered tribes in Africa and somehow they would already know about Mike Tyson.
        Ali being the most recognizable person in the World then is a fact, not an opinion, beating even US presidents like Carter and Nixon in that era.

        Speaking of being popular in Africa...


        I agree Ali often took things too far, but it's also what got him a lot of attention, which is my point.
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        • Profile picture of the author socialentry
          Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

          Ali being the most recognizable person in the USA then is a fact, not an opinion, beating even US presidents like Carter and Nixon in that era.

          Fixed for you.



          Because you've witnessed this in your country does not mean that it applies to the rest of the world.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      How about Ali as an underrated marketer/promoter? He grew up a poor black kid in KY and became the most recognizable person in the World for a couple of decades.
      Houdini was the most famous entertainer of his time.

      Elvis Presley was a mediocre singer who was promoted into stardom.

      Ali was the greatest boxer of his time....and a phenomenal promoter. One of the most recognized names in the world.

      Greatest promoter now? Donald Trump, by far. Think of him what you may, but he went from a bankrupt laughing stock, to a reality TV star, and then President Of The United States. My guess is that he's now the most talked about person on the planet.
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      • Profile picture of the author animal44
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        Greatest promoter now? Donald Trump, by far. Think of him what you may, but he went from a bankrupt laughing stock, to a reality TV star, and then President Of The United States. My guess is that he's now the most talked about person on the planet.
        Nah... That's just fake news...!
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  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    I would have to say it's those that invented the internet (prob not the proper word) and everything to do with it.

    It has literally changed the entire world.

    Here's a couple of the many many interesting articles.

    https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/n...ged-the-world/

    https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001016.htm
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  • Profile picture of the author adcommunalfazel
    Paz Dylan -

    In short, he pretended to be Bieber. Not gonna spoil the story for you, so here's the full article below:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...?noredirect=on
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