Crayola. Get them at five, charge them at 35.
Crayola makes crayons for kids, but parents buy them, and those parents used them in 1995. The crayon is the lost leader and the memory is the business.
THE GIST ON CRAYOLA: "Adult Supervision"
Who is Crayola really selling to?
Crayola made crayons for kids, but parents buy them. The parents buying them today were the kids using them in 1995, because Crayola was never selling to children.
Where did Crayola come from?
Crayola was founded in 1885 selling industrial pigments: red iron oxide for barn paint and carbon black for car tyres. In 1903 they spotted a gap. Schools needed cheap, safe crayons, so they sold them for five cents a box. 140 years later they make three billion crayons a year, and license the name to anybody who will pay.
Why has the box never changed?
Crayola has basically been marketing to adults for 120 years. The smell of the crayon is exactly the same as when you were a kid. The typeface and colour scheme on the box are the same as you remember. The brand has frozen its design on purpose, because the memory of it is the product.
Consistency matters when the 35 year old is buying for the 5 year old. They sell in 80 countries and have recently opened a UK office to double their business here.
What is the real business?
The crayons are basically the loss leader, but the brand is the business. Every kid's brand does the same. Once they're in your earliest memory, no other brand can take that slot. There is no second first.
That's why there's a crayon-shaped water bottle. All of that sells because of the crayons. Get them at five, charge them at 35. Did they get you?
Does the smell of a crayon take you straight back?
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Quick answers
Who buys Crayola crayons?
Parents, who were the kids using them decades ago. Huw says Crayola was never selling to children.
How did Crayola start?
In 1885, selling industrial pigments such as red iron oxide for barn paint and carbon black for car tyres. In 1903 it moved into cheap, safe school crayons at five cents a box.
Why does the design never change?
The brand froze its design on purpose because the memory of it is the product, and consistency matters when a 35 year old is buying for a 5 year old.
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