Dom Pérignon is synonymous with luxury, but it still needs to reach a big audience. The discount retailer Costco sells more bottles than any other retailer in the US
Business & Brands
To solve the challenge of quick and easy delivery, Domino’s Pizza turned to those doing it best – ecommerce leaders. Taking learnings from players like Amazon, it allowed customers to save an ‘easy order’ that they can request in just a few clicks, and created the Domino’s Tracker – the first food delivery service to update customers on their pizza order in real time.
For years, Domino’s Pizza had a promotion that guaranteed delivery within 30 mins or the pizza was free. But it meant delivery drivers often sped to make the deadline and caused a number of accidents, with one crash victim suing Domino’s for $79m. The chain shut the promotion down, citing “public perception of reckless driving and irresponsibility.”
In the early days of Dropbox, 60% abandoned the service and the team couldn’t figure out why. So they offered $40 to a man on Craigslist to use it in person, and quickly found people couldn’t understand seemingly basic features.
It isn’t actually a brand for dudes – 50% of its buyers are women, who choose the brand over traditional toilet paper mostly because it cleans better.
Duolingo employees don’t talk about ‘MVPs’ (Minimum Viable Products) during the design process – they talk about ‘V1s’. The logic? “MVPs often have a lower standard of quality and can be used as an excuse to ship subpar work. V1s, on the other hand, are polished. They may not have all the bells and whistles, but they meet our bar.” A small but subtle tweak that reminds the team to always deliver excellence.
James Dyson doesn’t talk about household appliances to describe his products – he talks about solving problems others seem to ignore. This has given him licence to expand into a range of categories beyond vacuum cleaners, most notably hair dryers.
James Dyson re-invented vacuum cleaners without a background in engineering. He came up with the idea of a bagless vacuum after seeing how sawmills used cyclone force to eject sawdust, and his knowledge of furniture and interior design helped him create a successful prototype.
Hon Lik invented the e-cigarette in an attempt to kick his own smoking habit. Unfortunately, he’s now a dual user.
In 2011, Insiders at eBay were convinced their Google search ads were increasing website traffic. After all, the data showed that the more money spent on these ads, the more people clicked on the link to the eBay website. In reality, the ads weren’t causing more people to click on the link – they were simply guiding a growing number of people who were already looking for it. eBay eventually switched off the advertising and found a negligible impact on traffic.
Half the planet is on Facebook (pretty much, with 3 billion users). But it’s original target audience was very niche: it exclusively targeted Harvard students, before slowly expanding to other colleges across the US
Ferrari is worth $90 billion, making it the most valuable car company in Europe, precisely because it makes the product hard to buy. When Ferrari revealed its new $3.7 million “hypercar” in 2024, it announced it wouldn’t be available for sale. Instead, it promised the car to a select group of 800 dedicated customers who already owned a Ferrari (note: the company only sells 14,000 per year).
Fiat recently made the bold decision to stop selling grey cars. CEO Olivier Francois said this was “reinforcing Fiat’s leadership as the brand of joy, colours and optimism.” The strategy doesn’t come without its risks, with grey being the most popular colour for new cars in many of Fiat’s most important markets. But a strengthened commitment to the brand’s vibrant Italian roots will help it to resonate with customers looking for a more exciting choice of car.
First Direct effectively told people: you can’t visit us in store, because we don’t have branches, but instead we’ll give you brilliant customer service over the phone. The company’s two million customers now get to enjoy an average 39 second telephone wait time versus eight minutes for the wider industry.
France has over twice as many companies with 49 staff as with 50. Why? At 50, companies must abide by a range of regulations including mandatory works councils and more stringent dismissal procedures.