January 17, 2019
It’s no wonder the Case name survives today, even though J.I. Case no longer exists. The Case name is prominent in CNH and Case IH products.
Some 80 years ago, Case knew how to promote equipment. I stumbled upon a pamphlet titled “Farm Power That Pays 40 Ways.” It features a rubber-tired Case tractor pulling a moldboard plow. Inside there are both rubber-tired and steel-tired tractors. It never mentions a single model. The implication? If it’s a Case, it’s better than other tractors and horses.
The pamphlet also uses one very old and one very modern technique. First, it includes quotes from farmers to make up the 40 ways farm power pays. Stephen Wright, founder of Prairie Farmer magazine, knew in 1841 that farmers would listen to what other farmers said.
Yet the second technique was visionary. Today it’s easier to find stories with lists of things. People have little time to read, so promise them what they’re going to get, tell them how many points to expect and deliver. Case did that 80-plus years ago by promising 40 ways to learn why Case power is superior.
Examples
Here are a few of those 40 ways:
• Reserve power for extra-heavy loads? “Picks up big loads at once without causing engine to pop spit.” — W.S. Bower, Lamoille, Nev.