Shortly after the Civil War, a new kind of company was born. N.W. Ayers and Son, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency, began an almost 100-year run, creating memorable brands for many companies such as AT&T (Reach out and touch someone), DeBeers (A Diamond is Forever), and even the U.S. Army (Be all you can be).
One of their clients had struggled to differentiate itself for almost 50 years, and they turned to Ayers & Son to create a brand and help them sell more product. Salt has always been an important commodity, but in the early 20th century it was sold in bulk. Due to high humidity, salt tended to clump together and had to be chipped off a block or ground before use. To fix the clumping issue, Chicago-based Morton’s Salt added iodine so it would pour freely and Ayers crafted a logo of the now famous girl with the umbrella and the tagline “when it rains, it pours.”
Today, 105 years later, the logo and the tagline remain. It is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, with Morton’s global sales topping $2 billion last year.
Over the years, I have often tried to explain the true value of creating a brand. Maybe I just did.
Monday, July 3: Spotted!
The Madison+Main-iacs got an extra day off this week, because I’m the #bestbossever. While we were scarfing down hotdogs and celebrating ‘Murica, our client Sycamore Vet got some great PR on CBS6. Dr. Jacob Hiller gave some wonderful tips to help pet owners keep their dogs and cats calm during fireworks shows and other loud situations.

Tuesday, July 4: Happy 4th!
On Tuesday, we celebrated Independence Day. You’ll notice I didn’t say we celebrated the Fourth of July. Independence Day is a holiday worth celebrating, especially for those who value freedom. July 4th is just another day where mattresses are sold for huge discounts. #thereisadifference
I celebrated American Independence Day by drinking Dutch beer and setting off cheap Chinese-made fireworks for the neighbors in my cul-de-sac. #ohtheirony
Wednesday, July 5: Back to Work
While everyone was back at the office on Wednesday, Art and Matt decided to extend the holiday. Mr. Ong flew to San Diego to visit his brother for a few days, and Art is exploring New York with family. #MainiacsTravel

We also launched another video for Virginia Energy Sense. Jack’s back with more power-saving ideas this summer. Check it out!
Thursday, July 6: Prepping for the Show
On Thursday, Media Planner and Account Executive Meredith Mason had a lunch meeting with Leslie Dolliver, our rep from Comcast Spotlight, to talk about our plans for promoting the Richmond Home Show (coming up Oct. 13-15). Dining on fried chicken sandwiches and mac-n-cheese, the Texas natives discovered they grew up near one another in the eastern part of the Lone Star state.
Friday, July 7: Big News and More
It was nice to learn that Madison+Main was nominated for VA Lawyer’s Weekly‘s 2017 Reader Rankings for Marketing/Advertising. Be sure to visit their website, so you can vote for us (it only takes a couple of minutes.)
Next Tuesday, I’ll be traveling over to RIR’s Torque Club for a MAJOR announcement. I can’t tell you what’s happening, but I can guarantee that it’s a big deal and it will be all over the news Tuesday night. You can follow the press conference live on Richmond Raceway’s Facebook pageTuesday morning at 9 a.m. if you don’t want to wait for the 6 o’clock news.
“Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.“
– Seth Godin