Gary Johnston, 2018 June 26, June 27
Part of collection: Oral history interviews with former employees of DuPont Company's Textile Fibers Department (2010-215)
Dates
- Creation: 2018 June 26
- Creation: June 27
Biographical Note
During his career with DuPont, Gary Johnston played an integral role in the management of the multi-million dollar advertising campaign introducing STAINMASTER carpet in the mid-1980s. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Johnston attended Brigham Young University, graduating in 1974 with a degree in marketing communications. Prior to joining DuPont, he worked for a variety of companies in marketing and direct sales positions. During this period, he became the top salesperson for ADP (Automatic Data Processing) in Northern California.
Johnston later accepted a sales position with ENDO Laboratories, a DuPont subsidiary headquartered in Long Island. After the company was folded into DuPont and headquarters relocated to Wilmington, Johnston was transferred from California to Wilmington and became a DuPont employee. In this position, he transitioned from direct selling to marketing and advertising for the analgesic product line of pharmaceuticals. He was transferred to the Corporate Marketing and Communication Department in 1983 and became a consultant to the industrial departments, bringing his abilities in marketing communications with him. He was assigned to the carpet fibers division of the Textile Fibers Department with the objective of improving the earnings of the division. In this role, he conducted a marketing study, which concluded that DuPont could increase revenues by bypassing the traditional value chain and marketing directly to the carpet consumer.
This consulting role led to Johnston being on the management team for the 1986-1987 STAINMASTER campaign, a twenty-five million dollar project. As part of the campaign, he and his colleagues developed the "swizzle stick" demonstration to market the carpet directly to consumers at the retail level, and he was involved with the taping of the first national TV commercial for STAINMASTER carpet, which aired October 16, 1986. He continued his involvement with STAINMASTER into its "second phase of carpet retailing" in 1995 with the introduction of "DuPont STAINMASTER Flooring Centers."
Scope and Contents note
In his interview, Gary Johnston provides insight into corporate marketing, particularly focusing on his role in the DuPont STAINMASTER advertising campaign. Johnston describes DuPont\u2019s business approach at the time he was assigned as a consultant in the carpet fibers division of the Textile Fibers Department with the objective of improving the earnings of the division. He gives his opinion as to why the division was not producing satisfactory earnings, and he details how, by analyzing the carpet fiber market, he concluded DuPont was not marketing correctly to get a reasonable share of the branded fiber market.
Johnston devotes significant time in his interview to the development, introduction, and marketing of STAINMASTER carpet. He details that a critical component to the advertising campaign was to demonstrate the product's performance in a very simple way at the retail level. To achieve this, he and his colleagues developed the "swizzle stick" demonstration, which involved dipping a stick covered in STAINMASTER carpet and one covered with a competitor's carpet into red fruit juice. The sticks were then used to stir clear water, and the stain would subsequently disappear from the DuPont product but not the other sample. The demonstration proved highly successful for the company. He also discusses the taping of the first national TV commercial for STAINMASTER carpet, which aired October 16, 1986.
He then relates the origin and operation of the "DuPont STAINMASTER Flooring Centers," which began in 1995 as part of the second phase of carpet retailing after the 1986 introduction of STAINMASTER carpet. In this phase, consumer communication shifted slightly to refocus on the retail floor. He also discusses some of the other major contributers to the STAINMASTER launch on the DuPont team.
General Physical Description note
1 MPEG3 file. TRT 2:48:11.. [ID: 2010215_20180626_Johnston].
Extent
From the Collection: 200 digital_files
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Additional Description
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research. Some interviews are subject to a time-seal. Please contact the Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department for access.
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
