Brand stories
Jahan Joby Junior Writer
Jeff Bezos
Bezos had a brain wave, we had a useful feature
How Jeff Bezos and his team launched the "Add to Cart" innovation, a small yet powerful feature that reshaped consumer behavior and propelled Amazon to the forefront of e-commerce.
It was the mid-1990s, back when Amazon was just an online bookshop. The internet was slow and new. At that time, Jeff Bezos and his team realized something: people wanted online shopping to be as simple as throwing an item into a shopping cart, collecting everything, and paying at the end. So he and his team came up with the idea of the 'shopping cart.' As you browsed products, you could add them to the cart, carry on, add more, and repeat-without needing to purchase one item after another. It may seem obvious and unexciting now, but back then, it was monumental. In 1996, Jeff Bezos and his team filed a patent for what they formally called a "method and system for placing an order via a communications network." In simpler terms, this marked the birth of a legend-the creation of the Add to Cart button.
What looked like a small feature at the time soon became a breakthrough, transforming online shopping forever. By making it possible to place multiple items into a single virtual basket before checking out, Bezos and his team eliminated unnecessary friction and made the process simple, familiar, and intuitive. This little button went on to shape the way e-commerce platforms were built and remains one of the most important features in digital shopping today. This small feature turned out to be brilliant-it forever changed the way people shop online. What once seemed like a simple button became the foundation of modern e-commerce. Today, billions of online transactions across countless platforms trace their roots back to that single Amazon insight: if you want customers to buy more, you must make buying ridiculously easy...
Even though what they did was small, it did CREATE HISTORY
NOKIA
HOW NOKIA WENT FROM INSTANT SUCCESS TO INSTANT FALL
How arrogance can sink even unsinkable brands.
Back in the early 2000s, Nokia was immensely popular and practically untouchable. They controlled over 40% of the global phone market. Their phones were tough, nearly unbreakable, and instantly iconic. But success is like gambling. Nokia executives grew confident too confident that customers would never leave. When Steve Jobs, together with Apple, created the first iPhone, Nokia's top brass laughed.
Who would want a fragile phone with tiny apps over a "real" phone with buttons? They dismissed the idea, calling it a bust. Inside Nokia, some engineers saw the storm coming. They warned management about the future - a world driven by software, apps, and the internet. But arrogance drowned out their voices. The warnings were ignored. In just a few years, Nokia went from being a leading brand to becoming nothing more than a nostalgic memory.
Even today years after nokia died it is still in our hearts.
and they indeed did CREATE HISTORY
MERCEDEZ BENZ
How did Benz did get the famous name ?
It is the late 1980's. A wealthy businessman and racing addict, mil jellinek, as a huge fan of the German car company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG). He started buying their cars, racing them, and selling them to rich and fancy clients. But thre was a single condition he wanted the car to be named after his daughter Mercedes Jellinek. Mercédès was just 11 years old at the time, but her name sounded exotic, classy, and perfect for luxury cars. In 1901, DMG released the Mercedes 35 HP, a revolutionary car for its time, and it dominated races. The name "Mercedes" became so famous that in 1926, when DMG merged with Karl Benz's company, they combined Mercedes with Benz - giving us Mercedes-Benz.
SO, WHAT DO WE LEARN?
Find an emotional hook A product with a human connection (like naming it after a person) often feels more relatable and memorable.
Link your brand to success early Mercedes became legendary by winning races, not just selling cars. Achievements create credibility faster than advertising. Think long-term with your name - The name "Mercedes" wasn't about the car's features; it was timeless, aspirational, and worked across languages.
THEY DIDN'T ONLY CREATE A LEGENDARY CAR OR A WONDERFUL NAME
THE CREATED HISTORY
FEDEX
HOW A CASINO MADE THE FEDEX WE KNOW TODAY
FROM GAMBLING TO VICTORY
It's the early 1970s. Fred Smith, a former Marine pilot, has just started an air delivery company called Federal Express.
The concept? Overnight shipping...
Something the world didn't really think was possible at scale.
But in 1973, just a year after launch, the company was in the streets searching for money.
The fuel prices were skyrocketing, and FedEx was down to its last $5,000 in the bank. Payroll was due. Vendors were waiting.
What could they do? Were they doomed?
Fred's team was ready to shut down. But Fred... had other plans. Instead of giving up, he took the company's last $5,000 not to a bank, not to an investor but to Las Vegas. Yes, he literally flew to Vegas, walked into a casino, and started playing. Three days later, he walked out with $27,000 -enough to cover fuel, keep the planes flying, and buy the company another week of life. And from the insane amount of luck fred had he was able to keep the business alive and was able to make it into want we know today... A 60 billion dollar brand.
In the end FedEx did not only deliver packages, they created history.......
