P.T. Barnum | Long Lost Marketing Secrets

P.T. Barnum (1810-1891)

One of the greatest myths about Phineas Taylor Barnum was that he said: "There's a customer born every minute."

But there is no proof that he ever made that famous statement.

He did, however, say that:"every cloud has a silver lining," and acknowledged that "the public is wiser than many imagine."

In his 80 years, Barnum gave shameless hucsterism, peerless spectacle, and everything in between - enough entertainment to earn the title "master showman" a dozen times over.

And his publicity tricks masterfully hypnotized people to literally throw money at him.

Barnum was born on July 5th 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut. The oldest of five children, he showed his salesmanship at an early age, selling lottery tickets when he was just 12 years old.

In 1825 Barnum obtained the services of Joice Heth, a woman claiming to be 161 years old and the nurse of George Washington. "Unquestionably the most astonishing and interesting curiosity in the world!" shouted one of Barnum's handbills. Barnum showed her off in New York and New England, generating about $1500 per week.

By the year 1841 Barnum bought the struggling Scudder Museum in New York City, renamed it as "Barnum's American Museum" and turns it into a 19th. Century version of Disneyland. He exhibited over "500,000 natural and artificial curiosities from every corner of the globe"

One of the museum's features was a sign that read: "This way to the egress". People eager to see what an egress looked like, passed through the door and found themselves out on the street ("egress" is another word for exit). And they were forced to pay another 25c to re-enter.

The following year he exhibited "The Feejee Mermaid," an embalmed mermaid purchased near Calcutta by a Boston seaman. The publicity from the mermaid increased the museum's attendance by 300 per cent.

Barnum also hired Charles Stratton, who becomes world-famous as General Tom Thumb. The two become close friends, and so successful that, in 1844, they had an audience in England with Queen Vistoria.

By the early 1850s he heavily promoted opera star Jenny Lind to the American public. "The Swedish Nightingale" performed 95 concerts for Barnum, averaging $7,496 a show.

Barnum wrote, and published his autobiography in 1854 and called it: "The Life of P.T. Barnum, Written by Himself"

In the 1870, Barnum's Grand Travelling Museum, Menageerie, Caravan, and Circus makes its debut. At the time, it was the largest circus venture in American history. Barnum grossed $400,000 in his first year of operation.

By 1872 Barnum was already referring to his enterprises as "The Greatest Show on Earth." "P.T. Barnum's Travelling World's Fair, Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show on Earth" now covered five acres and accomodated 10,000 seated patrons at a time.

In 1881 Barnum joined forces with James A. Bailey and James L. Hutchinson. The result was "P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth, and The Great London Circus, Sanger's Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United." It soon became known as the "Barnum and London Circus."

Barnum bought Jumbo The Elephant, from London. Dubbed "The Towering Monarch of His Mighty Race, Whose Like Will Never Be Seen Again," Jumbo arrived in New York on April 9, 1882, and attracted enormous crowds.

Barnum and Bailey went their separate ways in 1885 but rekindled their business relationship once again in 1888. That year the "Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth" first toured America.

On April7, 1891, several weeks before he died in his sleep, Barnum read his own obituary: The New York Sun newspaper, responding to Barnum's comment that the press says nice things about people after they die, ran his obituary on the front page with the headline: "Great and Only Barnum - He Wanted To Read His Obituary - Here It Is."

Appropriately, it is reported that Phineas Taylor Barnum's last words were about the show which was appearing in New York's Madison Square Garden at the time: "Ask Bailey what the box office was at the Garden last night."

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