Wife?s Marketing Prowess Helped Edison See the Light

It is well known that Thomas Edison was an inventor, a genius, and he never slept. Did you know that Mrs. Edison was a genius and never slept too? She was the marketing guru behind his engineering success. True, Tom had discovered what is today known as the light bulb. When he showed it to the Mrs. Mina Edison, his second wife, she asked "what are you going to call it?"

Tom said. "I call it an affordable electrical home-lighting device."

"Great," she responded, "with a name like that it will sit on the shelf at the patent office. We will just add it to the other money-losing patents you have conceived."

"How will people know what it does? She asked sarcastically, "From its name? You need a short catchy description that customers (yes, even in the 1880s they were already called customers) will immediately identify with."

This time Tom listened. The English inventor, Sir Joseph Swan, his arch rival, was ready to introduce a similar device and he did not want to lose out this time.

Mrs. Edison started grilling her husband. "Why will people want to buy your affordable electrical home-lighting device?" "Well, it has the incandescence of 81 candles or 2.3 gas-burning lamps." he proudly answered.

"Tom, I keep on telling you that those are features. Customers don't buy features; they buy benefits," she said. "How will this device benefit people?"

"They will be able to stay up later and read more books," he offered.

She glared at him. "Are you telling me that people will invest tens of dollars to bring wires into their houses to connect to your affordable electrical home-lighting device just to be able to read the latest Mark Twain novel?, she said. "I don't think so. My research shows that only 18 percent of adults can read on an eighth-grade level."

She decided to bring in some of her neighbors and ask them their opinions of the device (history records this as the first documented focus group). Their comments were invaluable:

"I will be able to put make-up on before school," said the high school debutante.

A little 4-year old girl shyly whispered that she would be able sleep at night and not be afraid of the dark with an affordable electrical home-lighting device glowing in the hallway.

As always it was the female head of the households who saw the benefits most evidently. "No more soot from the oil lamps means cleaner floors and therefore less of a need to wash and wax daily. Why with the extra time, I would be able to go to school and get a degree and work independently and therefore have the money I need to leave my husband," one said.

Mrs. Edison was excited. This affordable electrical home-lighting device could finally make her husband an entrepreneurial success. However the focus group balked at the name. No way could they see themselves walking into one of those new Woolworth five-and-dime stores and asking for a dozen affordable electrical home-lighting devices.

Mrs. Edison would not let them leave. "So what would you call it?," she asked in desperation.

The responses were flying, "How about a non-candle lighting device" or a "Man-made bumble bee, or a ..."

The little 4-year-old girl said it looked like her dad's bald head. He had started shaving his entire head for some unknown reason, and it gave off lots of light. Why not call it a bald light or a light bald?

People stared nodding. They said the name was different and it would create a lot of buzz. They could see people walking into a store and asking for a box of light balds People stared nodding. They said the name was different and it would create a lot of buzz. They could see people walking into a store and asking for a box of light balds.

So the obvious question is: "How did light balds become what are today universally known as light bulbs?"

Beats me.

Hesh Reinfeld writes a syndicated business humor column. You can read additional examples of his columns on his website: http://www.heshreinfeld.com Or contact him at hesh1@comcast.net

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Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:05:39 GMT Nokia Forecasts Drop in Third-Quarter Market Share (Update1) - Bloomberg AFP Nokia Forecasts Drop in Third-Quarter Market Share (Update1) Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Juho Erkheikki Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, forecast a drop in third-quarter market share after competitors slashed prices and a new handset was delayed. Nokia Sees Market Share Slipping in Third Quarter Wall Street Journal Nokia Lowers its Third Quarter 2008 Mobile Device Market Share Outlook FOXBusiness MarketWatch - Reuters - TheStreet.com - The Associated Press all 138 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:50:07 GMT Lavrov rejects Cheney's attack on Russia - CNN International BBC News Lavrov rejects Cheney's attack on Russia CNN International - 1 hour ago By CNN's Matthew Chance MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia on Friday rejected sharp criticism by US Vice President Dick Cheney that its intervention in Georgia raises doubts about Moscow's reliability as an international partner. Video: Cheney Slams Russia for War Against Georgia AssociatedPress Russia says Cheney fanning Georgian aggression Reuters India Reuters UK - guardian.co.uk - RIA Novosti - Voice of America all 2,162 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:45:40 GMT Reviews of McCain's speech - MSNBC Telegraph.co.uk Reviews of McCain's speech MSNBC - 30 minutes ago The AP’s Ron Fournier says McCain “preached bipartisanship and unity from a stage retooled to carry him out to the Republican faithful. McCain: I work for you CNN Political Ticker ‘Change is coming,’ McCain tells GOP in speech Kansas City Star CNN - Houston Chronicle - Forbes - Chicago Sun-Times all 906 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:35:16 GMT Dell looks to sell factories worldwide - CNNMoney.com Wall Street Journal Dell looks to sell factories worldwide CNNMoney.com - 50 minutes ago By Scott Moritz Dell (DELL) is getting more serious about trimming costs and is exploring plans to sell its PC manufacturing plants, according to a news report Friday. Dell said to consider sale of factories MarketWatch Ahead of the Bell: Dell may sell plants, WSJ says Forbes Bloomberg - EETimes.com - BloggingStocks - Zacks.com all 83 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:15:09 GMT Lebanese ruling majority accuses Syria of interfering in Lebanon - Xinhua Sydney Morning Herald Lebanese ruling majority accuses Syria of interfering in Lebanon Xinhua - 2 hours ago BEIRUT, Sept.5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese ruling majority accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of interfering in Lebanese internal affairs and not recognizing Lebanon's sovereignty, local press Naharnet reported Friday. Video: Sarkozy in Syria : the press is divided france24english Editor's Notes: A losing battle, so far Jerusalem Post PRESS TV - Ynetnews - Ha'aretz - New York Times all 1,062 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:59:29 GMT In Long-Awaited Maps of Cancer, The Breakthrough Is the Problem - Wall Street Journal In Long-Awaited Maps of Cancer, The Breakthrough Is the Problem Wall Street Journal - 10 hours ago By GAUTAM NAIK After struggling for years to improve the treatment of cancer, scientists now hope to fight the disease with the help of the same techniques that deciphered the human genome eight years ago: mapping it. What You Need to Know About Mapping the Cancer Genome U.S. News & World Report Data on defective genes make tailored remedies possible Baltimore Sun Reuters - The Associated Press - Bloomberg - eFluxMedia all 261 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:01:28 GMT PIECING TOGETHER A PLEA How the deal got done - Detroit Free Press Boston Globe PIECING TOGETHER A PLEA How the deal got done Detroit Free Press - 6 hours ago BY JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 5, 2008 Prosecutors rolled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plea deal into court Thursday praying the wheels wouldn't fall off. Detroit Mayor Acknowledges 'Poor Judgment' NPR Detroit mayor pleads guilty, to leave office Reuters DetNews.com - International Herald Tribune - The Associated Press - WWJ all 853 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:57:24 GMT RSS to HTML Web Site Traffic

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