Origins Of Top Businesses: Morton Salt And A Man Named “Joy”

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This section of our site is called “Origins Of Top Businesses”.

It features interesting facts about the early years of well-known businesses.

These facts are given to you for fun and inspiration.

Fun because the way that many top businesses started out is really surprising.

Inspiring because it will help you as a business owner see that if they can do it, so can you.

 

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When we think of popular brands we normally think of “glamorous” ones like Nike, Ralph Lauren, BMW, Apple, etc.

But I’d bet that the company I am about to tell you about is one that everyone of you have heard of and purchased from.

In fact, more of you have probably purchased from them compared to any of the other above brands.

P.S. Don’t miss watching the short video below in honor of the 100th birthday of the “Morton Salt Girl“.

Now for today’s facts:

• 1848 – Morton Salt began when a man named Alonzo Richmond arrived in Chicago from Syracuse, New York to start his new business. He called it Richmond & Company, Agents for Onondaga Salt.
• 1849 – Gold is discovered in California and this creates an endless demand for salt, which is a necessity for these adventure-seekers moving west.
• 1871 – The Great Chicago Fire happens. It occurs after months of dry, hot weather and was fueled by the Michigan Pine that was used to build the city. The fire destroys a  huge 600-block area. During the time of rebuilding the demand for salt continues to grow.
• 1889 – A man named Joy Morton acquired a major interest in the company and renamed it Joy Morton & Company. (He was the son of J. Sterling Morton who was a well-known Nebraskan man who served as secretary of agriculture under President Grover Cleveland.)
• 1910 – After several acquisitions he decided to rename it with the name we know now: Morton Salt Company.
• 1911 – One year later, they will make a choice that will forever impact that logo and brand of the company.
• They begin adding magnesium carbonate (an anti-caking agent) to salt so the salt will flows freely, even in humid weather. (This additive has since been changed to calcium silicate.) All salts flows in humid weather these days, so that doesn’t seem like a big deal to us, but in those days it was a big breakthrough.
• 1914 – The Company had decided to embark on the first national consumer advertising campaign for salt to promote its new product – a free-running salt in a round blue package with a patented pouring spout.
• Morton selected N.W. Ayer & Company as their advertising agency and asked them to submit a series of 12 different ads to run in consecutive issues of Good Housekeeping magazine. (The agency’s account executive brought 12 proposed ads and three possible ad substitutes to the Morton offices for their consideration.)
• Joy Morton’s son, Sterling Morton, who was secretary of the newly formed company, was instantly interested in one of the substitute ads.
• He liked it because it showed a little girl holding an umbrella in one hand and, in the other hand, she had a package of salt tilted back under her arm with the spout open and salt running out.
• He later said that he liked it because the whole story was captured in a that image. He said, “…the message that the salt would run in damp weather was made beautifully evident.”
• The image seemed perfect but they could find copy that worked. They had planned to use “Even in rainy weather, it flows freely,” but it was too long and didn’t seem snappy enough.
• They finally used a variation of the old proverb, “It never rains but it pours.”  But since they felt it was too negative they came up with a more positive rephrasing resulted in the now famous slogan, “When It Rains It Pours®“.
• And the rest is history.

Watch this video in honor of the 100th birthday of the Morton Salt Girl, watch this video below…

Source: MortonSalt.com

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