The brand's exciting history begins with taste. What the little-known creators of the world's biggest brands look like

becoming an increasingly important part every day brand promotion policies. Sometimes in order to come up with the name of a company, brand or trademark a large team of professionals gathers, multiple brainstorming sessions are held, focus group surveys, marketing research, and all in order to generate a unique name for the brand.

Few people know that a large number of the names of world famous brands were invented by students or based on musical preferences, puns, typos, and puzzling abbreviations. But despite this, brand names have become entrenched in the minds of millions of people around the world and have made companies popular and successful.

The most famous examples of stories of creating naming for global brands:

World Famous search engine got this name completely by accident. Initially, the search engine was called BackRab, but a little later in 1997, its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, decided to change the name of the search engine. A brainstorming session took place in a Stanford dormitory among students who were trying to come up with a name for a system capable of processing colossal amounts of information. Then Larry Page came up with the idea to call the system “googol” - a number with 100 zeros, among students it simply meant “unimaginably many.” The student entering the name made a mistake when registering domain names, so “google.com” appeared.

Facebook

The first project of the creator of Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg, became a hooligan site on which photos and data of students stolen from the Harvard University site were posted, which were to be rated by visitors, and this site was called Facemash. For this act, Zuckerberg was expelled, but he created a new project. The name came to his mind quite by accident, after he came across a book that was presented to all graduates of the school where Zuckerberg graduated - “The Photo Address Book”, which the schoolchildren simply called “The Facebook” - a photo album.

VKontakte

The founder of VKontakte, Pavel Durov, while looking for a name for his project, listened in the background to the Ekho Moskvy radio, where the phrase was often repeated: “In full contact with information.” By removing unnecessary words, Durov received the name of the most famous social network.

Apple is the favorite fruit of Steve Jobs (the founder of the company). After three months of futile attempts to come up with a name for the company, Steve Jobs threatened his partners that if they didn’t come up with a better name by five o’clock, he would call the company “Apple.”

HP(Hewlett-Packard)

This name was derived from the names of the company's founders. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard flipped a coin to choose whose name would appear first in the title. Bill Hewlett wins!

The favorite letter of the company's founder, George Eastman, is the letter K. He spent a long time looking for words that began and ended with that letter. After a long search, he settled on the word “Kodak,” which he believed was the sound a camera makes when taking pictures.

The fact is that before the creation of the company, only wet copying technology existed in the world. This is why inventor Chestor Carlson was so keen to emphasize the use of dry ink powder in copying technology. Based on this, it was decided to use the word “Xer” in the name - from Greek “dry”.

Coca-cola

The most popular soft drink received its name due to the fact that the original recipe for the drink looked like this: three parts coca leaves to one part tropical cola tree nuts.

The drink was first made by pharmacist Caleb Bradham, who derived the name Pepsi from the word pepsin, the name of a digestive enzyme that helps break down proteins.

The founders of the company really wanted to choose a short and concise name, then they came across Latin word sonus - “sound”. At that time (1950), the American word sonny, consonant with the word sonus, was widely used in Japan. However, the word sonny written in hieroglyphs was read as “unprofitable”, then the founders solved the problem by deleting one letter n from the name.

Ingvar Kamprad is the founder of the company, Imtaryd is the native village where Ingvar Kamprad was born and started his business.

The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903. Its founders were twelve businessmen from Michigan, led by Henry Ford, who held a 25.5% stake in the company and served as vice president and chief engineer of the company.

The company's first car was sold on July 23, 1903. It was a "petrol sidecar" driven by an 8 hp engine, called the "Model A". The car was described as "the most advanced car on the market that even a 15-year-old boy can drive"

From the very beginning, Ford wanted to produce mass-produced cars that had a very simple design and low cost. In those years, very few people could afford a car. Ford wanted to “put the world on wheels” and therefore sought to make a car accessible to the widest segments of the population.

Today, few people know, but Ford entered the Russian market back in 1907. The first representative office of the Ford Motor Company was located on Petrovskie Lines in the building of the Rossiya Hotel. Buyers were initially offered the "N" model, and then the "T" model.
Then, according to customs statistics, 563 cars were imported into Russia.

The logo, in a stylized font, immortalizes the surname of the company's founding father.

Dodge

One of the oldest brands in the history of the American automobile industry, Dodge was founded by two brothers from Michigan, John and Horace Dodge. (John and Horace Dodge). In 1899, the brothers, together with Detroit industrialist Fred Evans, opened a bicycle design and manufacturing company and store on Beaubien Street. Thus began the history of a brand that has become a source of national pride for America.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the brothers entered into an agreement with Henry Ford to produce parts for the new Ford model.
On July 17, 1914, brothers John and Horace Dodge founded Dodge Brothers Incorporated, the main purpose of which was to produce their own cars rather than contract for other companies. In the same year, 1914, the first Dodge car rolled off the assembly line. It was an Old Betsy four-door convertible.

The logo depicts the head of an argali - a mountain sheep that lives in the mountainous regions of Central and Central Asia, including in the south of Siberia. According to some experts, the culprit is one of the Dodge models, the curved exhaust manifold of which resembled the twisted horns of a mountain ram...

Chevrolet

In 1905, the future founder of the company, driver Louis Chevrolet, won his first important race and set a new record, covering the mile in 52.8 seconds. From then on, with consistent wins in American racing, he became a global superstar on the race track.

In 1911, Louis decided to use his fame to create his own automobile company - and together with William Durant, owner of the General Company of New Jersey (later to become General Motors), he created the Chevrolet Motor Car Company.
November 3, 1911 became the birthday of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company.

The bow tie logo was designed by William Durant himself. Although there are several versions of how the logo was designed, Durant himself claims that he copied the logo design from wallpaper at a Paris Hotel. The founder of the brand liked the pattern so much that, tearing the wallpaper off the wall, he hurried home, soon patenting the logo we know.

Citroen

In 1912, Andre Citroen, already a quite successful entrepreneur, visited the USA, where he met Henry Ford at the factories American methods car production. That year, Ford was already producing 150,000 copies of the Model T.

In 1919, together with designer Jules Salomon, creator of the successful Le Zebre car, Citroen created the Citroen Joint Stock Company and began production at a former arms factory on the Quai Javel.
Unlike its European competitors, Citroen built its production according to the American principle, starting with the production of a single model. At that time, his main goal was to transform the car from an inaccessible “curiosity” into a mass product.

The company's logo, in the form of an inverted "V" ("double chevron"), denotes a gear train and appeared long before Citroën Joint Stock Company was created.
In 1905, Citroen, having invested all the inheritance received from his parents into the business, became a partner of the Esten brothers, who were engaged in the production of parts for steam locomotives. He set up the production of gears at the plant, which were much more advanced than those made by competitors. At the same time, the Citroen emblem appeared.

Honda

Founded in 1946 by the enterprising engineer Soichiro Honda as the "Honda Technical Research Institute" and initially produced small engines and mopeds based on them.

In 1948, the Institute was transformed into the Honda company, which initially focused on the production of motorcycles that quickly became famous.
In 1949, Takeo Fujisawa, rightfully considered the second founding father of the company, began his work as a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Honda devoted himself entirely to production technology, and Fujisawa to corporate management.
Having made a name for itself in the production of motorcycles, in 1962 the company began producing cars. The first to appear was a cargo van, followed by a two-seater sports car.

For a long time, Honda did not have an established logo, but with the development of exports and production at foreign branches, a simple logo was introduced into use. The stylized spelling of the first letter of the name of the company’s founder became its graphic content.

Suzuki

Suzuki was founded in 1909 in the small village of Hamamatsu on the coast of Japan. The founder of the company is Michio Suzuki.
For the first 30 years, the company was engaged in the production of weaving machines. The produced models were ahead in their characteristics of equipment produced in Holland and Britain - countries that are the undisputed leaders in this branch of mechanical engineering. Despite its great success, Michio Suzuki realized that his company had to develop in other directions.

In 1937, Suzuki began production of small cars, and already in 1939 the first prototypes compact ones saw the light. Development was hindered by the Second World War, as a result of which the Japanese government came to the conclusion that civilian cars were not an essential item. Suzuki again switched to the production of looms. developed quite successfully, but the crisis in the cotton market in 1951, in once again made Michio Suzuki think about releasing vehicles.

At first, the company produced inexpensive motorized Power Free bicycles.
In 1953, the Suzuki Diamond Free was released - a motorcycle with a 60 cc two-stroke engine. cm, who won his class at the Mount Fuji Hill Climb. This was a turning point in the history of the company. A year later, the company was already producing 6,000 motorcycles per month. At the same time it was renamed Suzuki Motor Corporation.
The first Suzulight car was created in 1955.

The company logo is a stylized letter S.

Toyota

Toyota's history began in the last years of the 19th century when Sakichi Toyoda invented the electric loom, which revolutionized the textile industry countries. In January 1918, Sakichi founded the Toyoda Spinning and Weaving Company and, with the help of his son Kiichiro Toyoda, realized his life's dream of building an automatic line in 1924. In 1926, he founded Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, which produced looms.

Sakichi Toyoda died on October 30, 1930. In the same year, according to Sakichi's posthumous will, Kiichiro Toyoda began studying automobile production. As a competent engineer, he understands that for speedy development he needs to take advantage of the existing successful developments in the automotive industry. It was decided to use American engines as a basis. internal combustion. continued for several years and as a result, the base engine for modernization was chosen - an inline six-cylinder Chevrolet.
In 1933, an automobile department was opened at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, headed by Kiichiro Toyoda.
In 1935, work was completed on the first passenger car, called the Model A1 (later AA) and the first Model G1 truck.
In 1937, the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works automobile division was spun off into a separate company, Toyota Motor Corporation.

The Toyota emblem was created in October 1989. It consists of three ovals: two perpendicular ovals in the center symbolize the strong relationship between the client and Toyota. The combination of these ovals forms the letter "T" - the first letter in the word "Toyota". The space that serves as the backdrop encapsulates the idea of ​​the global expansion of Toyota technology and its limitless potential in the future.

Mazda

In 1920, after several unsuccessful attempts to open a blacksmith business, Jujiro Matsuda and investors bought a bankrupt company that was engaged in building materials from cork wood. The company was located in Hiroshima and upon purchase it was renamed Toyo Cork Kogyo.
In the mid-20s, production was refocused on motorcycles. In connection with this change, “kork” (cork) dropped from the name, and since 1927 the company began to bear the name Toyo Koguo Co Ltd.

In 1931, the company launched the production of three-wheeled Mazdago trucks.
In 1934, the company was renamed in honor of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Zoroastrian God of wisdom, who connects with nature and the other gods. The new name is also consonant with the surname of the company’s founder.
The first passenger car will be released only in 1960 - it will be a two-door Mazda R360 Coupe.

The company's first Mazda logo appeared in 1934, shortly after the start of production of three-wheeled Mazdago trucks. It was a stylized Mazda lettering.
In 1936 it was changed to a stylization of the letter M. This logo is almost identical to the coat of arms of the city of Hiroshima in which the company was located.
In 1962, when production of the four-door Mazda Carol began, the logo underwent changes again. Now this is an almost classic outline of the letter M in a circle.

From 1975 to 1991 the company did not have an official logo.
In 1991, a logo was developed for Mazda, which, according to the plan, was supposed to symbolize the sun and the flame of sincere passion. However, soon after its implementation, many began to find that this logo was very similar to the one that Renault used and still uses. Therefore, the diamond, which was located inside the circle, was slightly rounded from the inside and outside.
In 1997, work on changing the emblem continued. The new logo, a stylized letter M, was designed by designer Rei Yoshimara. This logo is still used by the company today.

Mitsubishi

The history of Mitsubishi began in 1870, when Yataro Iwasaki created his own shipping company, Tsukumo Shokai, by renting 3 steamships from his former employer, a shipping trading company owned by the samurai Tosa clan.
During the first few years of its existence, the company changed its name several times: in 1872 Tsukumo Shokai was changed to Mitsukawa Shokai, in 1874 to Mitsubishi Shokai, and finally in 1875 to Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company.

At first, in addition to shipping, Mitsubishi was involved in shipbuilding, mining, real estate and many other industries.
In 1917, Mitsubishi produced its first assembly-line passenger car, the Model A. And in 1918, its first truck, the T1. However, passenger cars were not of much interest to Japan at that time, as a result of which the Model A was in low demand and its production ceased in 1921. Despite this, the car was very highly regarded by society, and as a result became an exhibit at the Japan Industrial Exhibition in 1922.
In 1923, Mitsubishi began producing heavy trucks, which were much more in demand than passenger cars.
Until 1960, when the economical Mitsubishi 500 sedan was released, the company limited itself to creating trucks and buses.

The company's logo is a fusion of two coats of arms: the Yataro Iwasaki clan crest (three diamonds one above the other) and the Tosa clan crest (oak leaves). Iwasaki retained warm feelings for the Tosa clan because he owed his initial achievements to this clan - without this family he would not have achieved anything.
The name Mitsubishi comes from the emblem and means three diamonds.

Nissan

The history of Nissan begins in 1911 with the opening of the Kwaishinsha Co. automobile plant, created by the pioneer of the Japanese automobile industry, Masujiro Hashimoto, in the Azabu-Hiroo district of Tokyo.

In 1914, the company released a small passenger car, which a year later debuted on the market under the name Dat Car. The name Dat is an abbreviation of the first letters of the surnames of three of Hashimoto's main patrons of the arts: Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, and Meitaro Takeuchi. In addition, the name Dat in Japanese means “alive, agile.”
In 1919, Jitsuyo Jidosha Corporation Ltd. was founded. — another predecessor of Nissan. The company imported tools, components and production materials from the USA, and was recognized as one of the foremost in the automotive manufacturing industry. The company produced a three-wheeled car, the design of which was created by the American engineer William R. Gorham.

In 1926, Kwaishinsha Corporation and Jitsuyo Jidosha Corporation merged to form Dat Jidosha Seizo Corporation.
In 1931, Dat Jidosha Seizo Corporation became a division of the Tobata Imono company formed by Yoshisuke Aikawa.
On December 26, 1933, Tobata Imono merged with another manufacturer, Nikon Sangyo Corporation, and Jidosha Seizo Corporation Ltd was born. This date is the official founding date of Nissan. Yoshisuke Aikawa was appointed president of the company.
1 1934 company name was changed to Nissan Motor Corporation

The Nissan emblem was a red circle, symbolizing the rising sun and sincerity, and a blue rectangle with the company name, symbolizing the sky. Later, the colors in the logo were abandoned.
The name of the company comes from the words "Nihon" - "Japan" - "Ni" and "sangyo" - "industry" - "san".

Mercedes

In 1883, Karl Benz founded Benz & Co. Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik.”
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler developed and assembled the world's first motorcycle in his workshop. The engine of this motorcycle had a displacement of 260 cc. cm and developed a power of 0.5 hp. at 700 rpm, but this was enough to reach 12 km/h.
In 1886, Karl Benz developed a three-wheeled motorized carriage.
In the same year, Gottlieb Daimler developed a motor carriage with an engine installed on a 4-seater carriage he ordered from the Wilhelm Wimpff & Sohn carriage factory. The Daimler motor carriage was the world's first true four-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine. Before him, a vehicle with an internal combustion engine had already been created and patented, but it was three-wheeled. Wilhelm Maybach also took part in the creation of this car.

In 1890, together with a businessman named Duttenhofer, Maybach and Daimler founded the company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. Due to disagreements with Duttenhofer, Maybach and Daimler left the company for some time, but Duttenhofer still had to convince them to come back.
The first Mercedes was built in 1901, after Emil Jellinek, a member of the company's board of directors, convinced Maybach to create a new car and name it after his daughter Mercedes Jellinek.
In 1926, the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Co. took place. Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik.” As a result, the Daimler-Benz company was formed, headed by Ferdinand Porsche.
In 1998, Daimler-Benz merged with the Chrysler automaker. New name for DaimlerChrysler.
In 2007, after the sale of its Chrysler division to the private American investment fund Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., the company was renamed Daimler.

The company logo in the form of three rays denotes the areas in which the company conducted its activities: sky, earth and water. The company produced engines for cars, ships and aircraft. The logo appeared in 1909, even before the formation of Daimler-Benz.

Audi

In 1899, August Horch founded the company Horch & Cie. Motorwagen Werke, where in addition to repairing vehicles, began to establish its own car production.
In 1902, due to financial difficulties, Horch moved to Saxony, first to Reichenbach, and in 1904 to Zwickau, where he transformed the company into a joint stock company.

Due to disagreements with the board of directors and the supervisory board in 1909, August Horch left the company and established another automobile production. The second company was also named after Horch, which led to a lawsuit over the rights to the company name, since the name had already been patented by the first company. August Horch lost this case. For the name of the new company, Horch chose the Latin translation of his surname. So the German horch (listen) turned into the Latin audi. The idea to use the Latin verb belonged to the son of one of Horch's partners: the boy, who was studying Latin, overheard the adults discussing a new name for the company and suggested a translation.
Since the founding of the brand, its history has been connected with sporting achievements. Thanks to his impressive successes in the Austrian mountain rally races between 1911 and 1914, August Horch made the Audi brand world famous within a few years.

In 1932, 4 German companies: DKW, Audi, Horch and Wanderer merged into the joint-stock company Auto Union. Each of the four brands included in the group was allocated a specific market segment: DKW - motorcycles and small cars; Wanderer - middle class cars; Audi - cars in the upper middle class segment; and Horch - luxury and executive cars.
In 1969, Auto Union merged with NSU Motorenwerke, which was also involved in automobile production. The new company was called Audi NSU Auto Union. Due to the fact that the last NSU products rolled off the assembly line back in 1977, after which the company produced exclusively Audi cars, the question arose about renaming the company. In 1985 the company was renamed Audi.

The Audi emblem is a symbol of the merger of four independent manufacturers in 1932. Initially, the logo in the form of four rings was used exclusively on racing cars produced by the concern. Each manufacturer of the concern produced ordinary, serial models under its own logo. Later, in 1985, when the union turned into a single Audi company, the four-circle emblem began to be used on all cars of the concern.

BMW

In 1913, two small aircraft engine companies were created in Munich: Rapp Motorenwerke and Otto Flugzeugwerke.
In 1917, the owners of these companies: Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto, decided to merge into one aircraft engine plant. The company is registered on July 20, 1917, under the name Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). From this date, the BMW company's chronology is calculated.

After the end of the First World War, the company found itself on the verge of collapse, because according to the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans were prohibited from producing engines for aircraft, and engines at that time were the only products of BMW. The plant is being repurposed to produce first motorcycle engines, and then motorcycles themselves.
In 1923, the first motorcycle, the R32, came out of the BMW factory. At the 1923 motorcycle show, this device immediately gained a reputation as a fast and reliable machine, which was confirmed by absolute speed records at international motorcycle racing in the 20s-30s.
In 1928, the company acquired car factories in Eisenach (Thuringia), and with them a license to produce the Dixi small car. Its production begins in 1929. Dixi is the first BMW car.

The idea for the logo came to the creators when they noticed that the rotating propeller of an airplane, if you look at it at the right angle, looks like a circle divided into equal quarters. This is how the BMW emblem appeared. The colors of the emblem: blue and white were borrowed from the Bavarian flag.

What do you think connects home appliances to the auto industry? At first glance, nothing. But in fact, many products used to be made (and some companies still make them) by brands that are now known around the world for their cars. Surprised? Yes, in the first years of their activity, many produced not cars, but completely different goods. For example, sewing machines and even pepper grinders. It's hard to believe that companies such as Opel, Peugeot, BMW or even Toyota have opened up their world history. Here is a brief overview of the history of the largest and most famous automobile companies.

BMW

On March 7, 1916, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG was founded as a successor to the Gustav-Otto-Flugmaschinenfabrik.

Initially, BMW was not involved in the production of cars. At the first stage, the German company produced aircraft engines for aircraft.

In 1923, she introduced her first motorcycle. BMW's automotive activities began in 1928, when the company acquired a license from Austin Seven to produce the Dixi compact car.

Mitsubishi

Iwasaki Yataro was founded in the 1870s. Mitsubishi's activities were related to shipping. The name of the company comes from two words “Mitsu” and “hishi”, which means “three diamonds”. Officially, the company began operating under the name Mitsubishi in 1873.

After the death of the company's founder, Iwasaki Yataro, control of the company passed to him. younger brother, which expanded its activities in the construction of shipyards. The company also began activities in the field of mining in the field of banking.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Mitsubishi was one of the leading arms manufacturers in Japan.

In 1945, the Mitsubishi group already included 200 different companies, which carried out extensive activities in various areas of the economy.

The first Mitsubishi cars began to be produced in 1917. Production was carried out under the direction of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The brand began producing cars as an independent automobile company only in the 1970s. It is from this moment until the present day that the company has been producing cars.

Kia

Kia was founded in 1944 under the name Kyongseong Precision Industry. But in the early years the company produced bicycles. As an automaker, the company began its activities only in 1952, which received the name Kia Industry Company.

The main Kia model in the early years was a three-wheeled pickup motorcycle (sidecar). This vehicle gained popularity in Korea in 1961.

The first four-wheeled car rolled off the assembly line in 1972. It became a truck named Titan.

In 1973, she designed and began production of the first in its history gasoline engine. A year later, this engine began to be installed on the first Kia passenger car, which was named Brisa.

Citroën

Founded by Andre Citroen, who in 1900 opened the production of parts for steam locomotives (gears, rollers, shafts, double spiral teeth, etc.). This explains the origin of the Citroën logo, which is still in use today.

In 1915, the company began mass production of weapons for the First World War. As a result, by 1919 the company had accumulated a lot of money. Thanks to this, Citroën began production of "Type A" cars. It was the first European car to be mass produced.

Surprising but true: Citroën was better known as a leasing organization and was also a leader in the car rental industry.

Opel

Adam Opel began his activities in 1862 in Rüsselsheim. But not many people know that it was not created to produce cars. The company was opened for serial production sewing machines OK.

In 1912, a major fire occurred at the Opel plant. Immediately after this, the company's management admitted that the production of sewing machines was bringing only losses and the production of sewing equipment was discontinued.

Bicycle production continued until the 1940s.

It is worth noting that in the 1920s, Opel was the world's largest manufacturer.

The first car produced by the company was produced in 1898.

Suzuki

The history of the automaker began with the production of weaving machines. Company founder Michio Suzuki created the Suzuki brand in 1909.

In 1920, the company went public. Despite the company's public offering, Suzuki's first car was introduced only in 1937, which never entered production.

During World War II, the company primarily produced products for military purposes.

After the war, Suzuki focused on producing agricultural products and also produced heating products.

In 1952, the company introduced the first motorized bicycle called the "Power Free".

In 1954, the company was renamed Suzuki Motor Company.

The company introduced its first civilian passenger car in 1955, which was named "Suzulight".

Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his company in 1948 to produce tractors. Initially, tractors were assembled from unwanted military vehicles, the remains of which accumulated after World War II.

In 1959, it expanded its production and began to produce multiple consumer goods, ranging from burners to air conditioning systems.

It was only in 1963 that a car company (Automobili Lamborghini) was founded, which began producing sports cars that are still revered throughout the world.

According to legend, Ferruccio Lamborghini did not like the quality of his own. To teach (or teach) Enzo Ferrari a lesson, Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to create his own automobile company, which should produce better sports cars than Ferrari. Since then, two global car brands have been competing in technology, the quality of their cars and, of course, speed.

Skoda

True, the company was originally called Laurin & Klement (L & K), which was founded by mechanic Vaclav Laurin (on the left in the photo) and trader Vaclav Klement. At first, the company was engaged in the production of bicycles.

The founders of Laurin & Klement (L&K), thanks to their good ideas and correct effective management, were able to enter the international bicycle market.

Four years later, in 1899, the company began producing motorcycles.

In 1905, the first legendary car, the Voiturette, was introduced.

Toyota

Founder Sakichi Toyoda began his career in 1894 with the production of handlooms. He then began producing motors and drives for the weaving industry.

Together with his son (Sakichi-san), he created an automated loom by 1924. Toyota Automatic Loom Inc. was created to produce and sell them.

In 1929, Sakichi Toyoda sends his son Sakichi-san to England to sell the patent rights to his automatic loom. The sale was necessary to raise enough capital to start an auto manufacturing company.

As a result, the son of the founder of Toyota managed to receive 100,000 British pounds for the patent.

In 1934, Toyota produced its first car.

Serial production of the car began at the end of 1934. The Toyota A1 was sold as a 1935 model.

Dodge

Dodge began its activities by producing spare parts for the auto industry. So the Dodge company, in 1901 (the year the Dodge brothers founded the company in Detroit), began producing and supplying ball bearings to the automotive industry. In 1902, she helped finance the launch of the Ford Motor Company.

The first one own factory for automobile production was opened in 1914.

Mazda

Mazda was founded in 1920. The company was originally called Toyo Cork Kogyo KK. At the first stage, the company produced finishing materials from a cork. Since 1929, the company began to manufacture machine tools.

The first car entered the market in 1931. It was a three-wheeled Mazda-Go truck.

During World War II, it was active in the defense industry. In the 1950s, production of three-wheeled and then four-wheeled trucks began again.

The first real passenger car appeared only in 1960, which was produced only for the Japanese market.

Peugeot

As officially established, the Peugeot company actually began its activities back in 1810. It all started with an iron foundry. So the company began producing coiled steel, cutting discs, boning and springs.

Already in the second half of the 19th century, it produced an impressive variety of products, ranging from agricultural implements and razor blades, to irons, coffee makers and even household pepper grinders.

By the way, pepper grinders are still produced by Peugeot to this day. In many restaurants around the world, Peugeot grinders are still the standard of quality.

In 1881, Peugeot began producing bicycles. Surprisingly, bicycle production continues to this day. Cars under the Peugeot brand began to be produced only at the end of the 19th century.

• TEFAL
  Tefal has long believed that the main motivation for purchasing Teflon-coated pans is that cooking with these pans does not require the consumption of a single gram of oil. However, it later turned out that the main incentive to buy them was the fact that pans with such a coating are very easy to clean, because food does not stick to their surface. The content of the advertising campaign was changed, which significantly increased its effectiveness.
• SNICKERS
  In Russia, the first Snickers chocolate bars appeared in 1992 and were positioned as a snack that replaced a full meal. For a long time, the former Soviet consumer could not get used to the fact that he could eat soup for lunch instead of soup, and bought Snickers as a “sweet for tea.” After the BBDO Moscow agency took over the creative servicing of the brand, Snickers was repositioned for teenagers, who for the most part love everything sweet and do not like .
• Alka-Seltzer
  After Alka-Seltzer advertisements in the 1960s began throwing not one, but two tablets into a glass of water, sales of the drug doubled. The Tinker&Partners agency came up with a cunning advertising move.
  There is a similar story about a brilliant marketer who was the first to indicate in the instructions for using shampoo that it should be applied to the hair and rinsed off twice, which led to a double increase in sales.
• Pepsi
  Nikita Khrushchev was the first to advertise Pepsi in Russia. In 1959, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Sokolniki, then-Vice Richard Nixon, skillfully playing the role of host, offered Nikita Khrushchev a drink to try. The photograph in which the Soviet leader is holding a cup with the Pepsi logo in his hands has not left the pages of newspapers and advertising magazines for a long time. That significant moment in the history of the brand is considered the “Birthday” of Pepsi in Russia.
• Timberland
  From the history of Timberland. In the early 1980s, Timberland was experiencing hard times. It produced quality pumps that were priced lower than industry leader Topsiders. Seemed like a good product and low price were supposed to work for them, but things were going badly. Timberland then made a very simple decision: they raised their prices until they were much higher than Topsiders' prices. Sales increased sharply. Which confirms the validity of David Ogilvy's statement: “The higher the price, the more desirable the product becomes in the eyes of the buyer.”
• Parliament
  At one time, the Parliament tobacco brand followed the same path. Initially, its prices were lower than its main competitor Marlboro, and sales were quite modest, since they faced a lot of competitors in the low price category in which no one appreciated the feature of their exclusive filter. Then the brand left the market for a year and re-entered at a price higher than Marlboro, immediately falling into the “premium” niche where a filter that was different from all others came at just the right time.
• Woolworth
  The founder of the largest Woolworth store chain and the inventor of grocery price tags and supermarkets found the right insight that allowed him to make millions by fainting from fear. A shy and stuttering young man from the village at the age of 21 got a job as a sales assistant in a small shop. At that time, the price of goods in stores placed on the counter behind the seller was not indicated. The seller “by eye” determined the buyer’s solvency and named his price. Then the buyer either bargained or left. Poor Frank did not know how at all and was very afraid to invite customers, praise the goods, and bargain. I was so afraid that one day I even fainted while working. As punishment, the store owner punished him by leaving him alone to sell for the whole day, threatening that if the earnings were less than the usual daily income, he would fire him.
  Before opening the store, Frank attached a piece of paper with the lowest possible price to all goods (a prototype of a modern price tag). He laid out all the stale goods dumped in the warehouse on a huge table, attaching a sign to it that said “Everything for five cents.” He placed the table near the window so that both the product and the sign could be seen from the street. And shaking with fear, he began to wait for customers, hiding behind the counter.
  All the goods were sold out in a few hours, and the day's revenue was equal to a week's revenue. Buyers, holding the product in their hands and seeing the price written on it, gave up their money without haggling.
  Frank left his owner, borrowed money and opened his own store. In 1919, the Woolworth empire consisted of a thousand stores, and Frank's personal fortune was approximately 65 million.
• "Guinness Book of Records"
  The famous and best-selling (after the Bible) “Guinness Book of Records” is nothing more than a publicity stunt invented by the managing director of the Guinness brewing company, Sir Hugh Beaver. In 1954, at a dinner given by the Wexford company for hunters, Hugh Beaver got into an argument with one of the guests about who could fly faster - a plover or a partridge. It was then that it dawned on Beaver that all over the globe, during such small gatherings, real disputes about “the very best” were unfolding. He decided that it was worth creating a book that would contain officially confirmed records in all sorts of fields.
  A year has passed research work, and on August 27, 1955, the first 198-page book was ready. The success was stunning: even before Christmas it became a bestseller in the UK, bringing good income to the beer brand.
• Dewar's
  In London at the end of the 19th century, brandy, rum and gin were very popular. Therefore, it was not easy to promote. The cunning Thomas Dewar, one of the founders of the family brand, chose an unexpected strategy. He hired straw customers to visit various pubs and demand Dewar's whiskey. Naturally, it was out of stock and they left. After several such visits, Dewar himself appeared at the bar and offered to conclude a contract for the supply of whiskey.
  In 1892, Thomas Dewar set off on a trip around the world. In two years, he visited 26 countries, and 32 agents began working for the company and several Dewar’s export companies appeared. The company's turnover during this time increased 10 times. And Tommy Dewar wrote his famous book “A Walk Around the World.”
• Camel
  The tobacco brand Camel was one of the first in America to try teaser advertising in 1913. Having decided that a camel is not only a memorable, bright picture, but also an excellent reason for advertising innovations, specialists from the tobacco company RJR, a few days before the first batch of cigarettes went on sale, published mysterious advertisements in the newspapers of almost ninety American cities. “Camels,” read the first one. A few minutes later the message “Camels are coming” appeared, and then - “Tomorrow there will be more camels in the city than in Asia and Africa combined”! The next morning, the frightened and intrigued Americans finally learned the whole truth. “Camel cigarettes are here!” read the final announcement.
• IKEA
  When the first IKEA stores were opened in the United States, having already gained recognition in Europe, furniture sales did not meet any expectations. After doing the research, it turned out that while Americans liked the simplicity of the design, they wanted furniture to fit the larger size of their homes. All that needed to be done was to increase the size of the furniture.
• Procter & Gamble
  Leading chemist-technologist at Procter & Gamble, Victor Mills, who helped his daughter care for her children, had to repeatedly pull out wet diapers from under his own grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he didn’t like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then the idea of ​​a disposable “diaper” came to mind - a folded pad with high absorbency, which was planned to be placed in a specially shaped panty. After several experiments with different materials, Mills developed a new product for P&G, which they began to produce under the Pampers brand, which became a household name.
• Chupa Chups
  Usually, after they eat caramel, all children's hands become sticky, and without hesitation they wipe them on their clothes. A lollipop (originally wooden), which could be sucked as if on a fork and without staining clothes, was invented in 1958 by Enrique Bernat. The USP of the product was that it could be sucked without dirtying clothes and hands. At the same time, the first slogan of Chupa Chups appeared - “It’s round and long-lasting” (~ It’s round and long). The innovative stick was appreciated by consumers in all countries of the world, who continue to suck the fruit candy for the 54th year.
• Nestlé
  The original logo of Nestlé, founded in the 60s of the 19th century, looked like this: a nest with three chicks and their mother. Henri Nestlé used the family coat of arms as a trademark for his first products. At that time, a traditional family was considered to be parents and three children. Later, closer to the middle of the 20th century, traditions changed. The logo has also changed. Now in the nest, traditionally for Europe, there are only 2 chicks.
• Marlboro
  The Marlboro brand first appeared in 1924 and was positioned as the first women's cigarettes. A purely feminine slogan was chosen: “Mild as May” - “Tender as May.” Hollywood star Mae West was invited as the face of the brand. The packaging was also aimed at the female audience: a filter with a red stripe solved a dual task: to hide sloppy lipstick marks and protect women’s white teeth from yellowing. But no matter how hard advertising specialists tried, the product was not attractive to women: cigarettes spoiled their breath, turned yellow and caused a painful dry cough. Therefore, in order to survive in the market after two decades, the brand had to change gender.
  In order to change the idea of ​​filter cigarettes as a product “for girls,” Philip Morris invited one of the best American advertising specialists, Leo Burnett, who came up with the image of the “Cowboy Tamer of the Prairie.” The cowboy, the embodiment of the American spirit, struck a chord with consumers. The posters reminded us of the real heroes of America - brutal guys conquering the wild steppes. They conquered everyone - men and women, blacks and Latinos. Marlboro sales grew so much in just one year that they began to occupy fourth position in the sales ranking of all tobacco products.
  In addition, Malrboro began to be produced in the “Flip-top” packaging that later became standard - a hard cardboard case with a hinged lid. Such packaging was both purely practical (the cigarettes did not wrinkle) and of enormous marketing significance - now the smoker had to demonstrate the pack to others every time he was going to smoke, because opening the “flip-top” in his pocket was inconvenient.
• De Beers
  It is known that the consumer does not buy a product, but a solution to his problem. Thus, the South African diamond company De Beers offered men a solution to all their problems with the opposite sex, building an ingenious advertising campaign on this insight.
  In 1948, Harry Oppenheimer, the head of De Beers, traveled to Germany to meet with representatives of the advertising agency N.W. Ayers. He went there with the firm intention of changing people’s ideas about diamonds: we must make sure that this stone ceases to be a trinket for moneybags, but becomes an everyday commodity, without which ordinary people couldn't get by. Advertising posters depicting glamorous actresses with rings on their fingers and earrings in their ears were replaced by black and white posters with images of diamonds and the inscriptions “Relieves headaches since 1888”, “Think about it. Divorce is more expensive”, “No, your wife didn’t pay for this advertising (But she told us what newspapers you read)” and so on. So De Beers proved that it was possible to sell luxury to women through their men.
• Red Bull
  When the drink was introduced to a wide market (Europe, USA), the main competitors were Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Molson, Labatt, and Anheuser-Busch. All of them had a similar concept - they toned and stimulated, and the Jolt Cola energy drink contained, among other things, a double dose of caffeine compared to Red Bull.
  Then Dietrich Mateschitz took a risky step: he artificially increased the price by half compared to competitors, reduced the volume of containers shaped like a battery, and began placing cans in stores not in the beverage departments, but in any other (note when the next Once you go to the store, you can find cans of Red Bull along with other energy drinks almost in the sausage department, including the alcoholic one).
  In addition, cases of Red Bull were distributed free of charge to students on university campuses. At student parties, Red Bull went out with a bang, because by a random and happy coincidence it was quickly discovered that it fits perfectly with vodka. Thus, a new cocktail, Vodka Red Bull, was born, which became very popular.
• ARIEL
  Rumor has it that the so-called casual Fridays, when you can move away from the strict dress code adopted in large companies and change your formal suit to casual clothes, were invented by P&G for advertising purposes. In the 80s of the 20th century, the world's largest company P&G was the leader in the washing powder market in the United States. But, despite the high advertising activity, the market share did not want to grow. Then the company conducted a study and assessed the clothing care market. In percentage terms, it turned out that powder is used in 65% of cases, and dry cleaning in 35%. The company further found that 70% of laundry detergent consumers are employed and wear suits 5 out of 7 days a week, which they dry clean.
  Further, joint research by P&G and Levi Strauss Jeans showed that employees in casual clothing are more creative and work much more efficiently than those who wear suits. And what did they do? P&G internally introduces the right to wear casual clothes on Friday. This news, thanks to the efforts of both companies, received huge coverage in the press, and many corporations followed suit. The washing powder market grew by 20%.

Victoria's Secret

One day, Roy Raymond decided to give his wife a gift and went to the store in search of beautiful lingerie. He wandered for a long time among the shelves with products, confused in the “otherworldly” world of women's accessories. And even salespeople trained to serve women could not help him make a purchase. So Roy left empty-handed, but with a revolutionary idea. In 1977, he opened his first store - Victoria's Secret, positioned as a new type of lingerie store. The store combined European elegance with a friendly environment where even men felt comfortable. And by launching a program to sell lingerie through catalogs, Raymond made a real revolution in the very approach to selling lingerie in the world.

However, five years later, Roy Raymond was forced to sell Victoria's Secret to Leslie Wexner, who immediately got rid of the image of a “paradise for men”, focusing on a female audience. Fashionable lingerie from Victoria's Secret began to be positioned as affordable luxury.

And Roy Raymond, at the age of 47, after several unsuccessful business ventures, committed suicide in 1993 by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

One of the oldest chains of fast food restaurants in the United States was founded by Garlan Sanders (1890-1980) when he was over 60. Before that, he led a rather miserable life. Having only 6 years of education, by the age of 40 Garlan managed to change several dozen professions. He sold tires, was a fireman, a soldier, a conductor, helped farmers, worked as a peddler and much more. Having tried a lot of professions, he never found one that he could hold out for a long time. The family lived poorly, but the wife endured all her husband’s problems steadfastly and believed in him until the very end.

In 1930, Sanders opened his own auto repair shop. Soon, he decides that he needs to make a small dining room for clients. Garlan allocated one room of the workshop as a dining room (his family lived in several others). This room contained a dining table and 6 chairs. Sanders cooked his food right in his home kitchen. Soon his auto repair shop became famous throughout Kentucky for its fried chicken. It was called: "Garlan Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken." All customers noted the quality of his seasoning, which he prepared from 11 different spices.

In 1937, he opened the Sanders Court & Cafe motel, which was also a fast-food restaurant in its own right. In the 1950s, Sanders began selling his "Garlan Sanders" chicken to other restaurants across America. In the early 60s, Garlan Sanders already had several hundred US restaurants as clients.

Woolworth

The founder of the largest Woolworth store chain and the inventor of grocery price tags and supermarkets found the right insight that allowed him to make millions. A shy and stuttering young man from the village at the age of 21 got a job as a sales assistant in a small shop. At that time, the price of goods in stores placed on the counter behind the seller was not indicated. The seller “by eye” determined the buyer’s solvency and named his price. Then the buyer either bargained or left. Poor Frank did not know how at all and was very afraid to invite customers, praise the goods, and bargain. I was so afraid that one day I even fainted while working. As punishment, the store owner left him trading alone for the whole day, threatening that if the earnings were less than the usual daily income, he would fire him.

Before opening the store, Frank attached a piece of paper with the lowest possible price to all goods (a prototype of a modern price tag). He laid out all the stale goods dumped in the warehouse on a huge table, attaching a sign to it that said “Everything for five cents.” He placed the table near the window so that both the product and the sign could be seen from the street. And shaking with fear, he began to wait for customers, hiding behind the counter.

All the goods were sold out in a few hours, and the revenue per day was equal to a week. Buyers, holding the product in their hands and seeing the price written on it, gave up their money without haggling.

Frank left his owner, borrowed money and opened his own store. In 1919, the Woolworth empire consisted of a thousand stores, and Frank's personal fortune was approximately 65 million.

Nintendo

The history of the Japanese company, specializing in the creation of computer games and game consoles, began in 1889. At that time the company was called Marufuku and produced playing cards in a special Japanese style, which were hand-painted and then varnished. In 1902, the company began producing Western-style cards, which were unknown to the Japanese at that time, and soon became one of the leaders in the gambling industry.

In the 1970s, Nintendo transitioned from cards to simple toys. At that time, many interesting toys were invented: the Ultra Machine, a mechanical hand called The Ultra Hand, and a humorous device for testing the level of love, the Love Tester. In 1978, Nintendo began producing arcade games.

Pampers

Leading chemist-technologist at Procter & Gamble, Victor Mills, who helped his daughter care for her children, had to repeatedly pull out wet diapers from under his own grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he didn’t like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then the idea of ​​a disposable “diaper” came to mind - a folded pad with high absorbency, which was planned to be placed in a specially shaped panty. Mills tested the first models on his own grandchildren - he actually tested everything on members of his family. At a time when everyone was brushing their teeth with toothpowder, his wife and daughter did it with liquid toothpaste, which Mills invented.

After several experiments with different materials, Mills developed a new product for P&G, which they began to produce under the Pampers brand, which became a household name. In retirement, the inventor of “diapers” became interested in traveling and mountaineering. Mills was well into his 80s and still climbing mountains. Victor Mills died at the age of 100 in 1997.

Sela

Boris Ostrobrod left the USSR in the early 90s for Israel. There he settled in Tel Aviv and started trading. He began to bring swimsuits from Israel to Russia. A small batch of the first swimsuits, bought by Ostrobrod together with his brother Arkady Pekarsky with their small savings, sold out almost instantly.

Next came work with the Chinese. The brothers began to order clothes from China. After his first successes in the sales field, Boris realized that real success could only be achieved by taking control of production. Which is what he did. After all, world-famous clothing brands also made clothes in China. Since they were able to conduct quality control in China, why not try?

This is how the Sela brand appeared, the main market of which was Russia. At the same time, all production was concentrated in China, and the company's headquarters were located in the capital of Israel, Tel Aviv. Interestingly, the word Sela itself means “rock” in Hebrew.

Nike

Phil Knight was a middle distance runner for the University of Oregon. He was a very mediocre athlete. But he knew very well how terrible American sneakers are. At the same time, German Adidas for most people in the 60s were a real luxury, as they were much more expensive than local products, although they were ten times higher in quality. Knight decided to rectify the situation and create the Blue Ribbon Sports company, which would produce cheap American sneakers that would be of equal quality to German Adidas and Puma.

Knight came to the conclusion that it was only possible to sell high-quality, and at the same time inexpensive, sneakers by producing them in Asia. In 1964, with an investment of $500, Knight and his coach Bowerman ordered 300 pairs of sneakers from the Japanese company Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS). Phil began selling Japanese sneakers in the United States from his van.

Sales began to grow, and little by little the business began to grow from simply reselling other people's sneakers to producing its own under the Nike brand.

Hilton

In June 1919, located in American state Conrad Hilton, who was then 31 years old, arrived in the town of Cisco, Texas. He recently experienced the bankruptcy of his first enterprise - a bank that did not stay afloat for even a year. After its liquidation, Conrad still had 5,000 US dollars left, and he was going to open a new bank or, if possible, buy a suitable one. But very soon his plans changed.

In search of accommodation for the night, he went to the local Mobley Hotel. The failed banker was amazed by the crowd of people in the lobby who were literally fighting for free rooms. Crowds of clientele are a real dream for any businessman, Hilton thought at that moment. But the hotel owner was not happy about this, and it turned out that he was not averse to selling his 60-room Mobley. This was enough for Hilton to forget about any banks forever. A few days later he became the owner of his first hotel, and six years later he opened the first hotel of his name in Dallas - the Dallas Hilton.

Adidas and Puma

Shortly after the First World War, at the beginning of 1920, the Dasslers, at a family council, decided to organize a family business - sewing shoes under the Dassler brand. The first products of the Dassler family were slippers and orthopedic shoes for training disabled athletes (of which there were many after the war). The material for them was decommissioned military uniforms, and the soles were cut from old car tires.

In 1924, the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory was founded. Two brothers with opposite characters complemented each other - Adolf is a calm and balanced producer, while Rudolf is an active and sociable salesman. A year later, Adolf invented and sewed the world's first football boots with spikes, which were forged by the blacksmiths the Zelein brothers. The football model turned out to be comfortable and, together with gymnastic slippers, became the main product of the Dasslers. On summer olympic games By 1928, several athletes were already performing in Dassler shoes.

After the death of their father in 1948, the brothers quarreled and, dividing factories, founded new companies Adidas and Puma. After the collapse of the family business, the brothers did not speak to each other, and Puma and Adidas became their fiercest competitors.

Viagra

In 1992, in the town of Pfizer Sandwich (UK), Pfizer conducted research on a new medicine- sildenafil citrate, which was created to treat many heart problems. The developers believed that sildenafil citrate would increase blood flow to the heart muscle and lower blood pressure.

But in the course of research it was found that sildenafil citrate does not particularly affect blood circulation in the myocardium or on blood pressure. It was also discovered that some male participants in the experiment did not want to return the pills at the end of the test (and one even broke into the laboratory where sildenafil was being made to stock up on the drug for future use). In all of them, the reason for refusal was a sharp improvement in erectile function.

Scientists from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer did not lose sight of this unexpected property of sildenafil citrate and recognized it good remedy to combat erectile dysfunction. This is how the drug Viagra appeared, the name came from the combination of the words “Vigor” (strength, power) and Niagara Falls - the most powerful waterfall in North America.

Mars

In 1911, 28-year-old Frank Mars, using money earned from selling sweets, which he had been engaged in since the age of 19, opened his own store with his wife. The confectionery shop was located right in Mars’s house, and trade was carried out through the kitchen window. The confectionery shop's assortment consisted of candies with different fillings, which Frank and Ethel sculpted by hand.

One day Mars and his son were walking around the city, and the little son asked his father to buy him chocolate. In those years, chocolate was sold only by weight, just like washing powders Henkel company. This created inconvenience for people, especially on hot summer days - even if you carefully eat chocolate that quickly melts in the sun, you could very easily get dirty with it. At that moment, Frank thought, what if?... And this “if” was embodied in small pieces of chocolate that were wrapped in foil.

As a result, a chocolate bar called Milky Way becomes a bestseller for the young enterprise in a matter of days. In 1925, the new bar was recognized as the leader in the chocolate market. Sales are growing steadily, and the company is developing further, opening new markets for sales of its products.