Candido Jacuzzi just wanted to ease his young son’s pain…

In the 1940s, his son, Ken, contracted juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As a result, he was left with chronic joint pain and stiffness.

Ken’s doctors recommended using warm water to loosen his joints, and it worked. There was a problem, though. Regular trips to the hospital were difficult for Ken’s family.

That’s when Candido stepped in, he came up with an invention that not only eased his son’s pain but also turned Jacuzzi into a household name.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

The Jacuzzi family, Italian immigrants who had settled in the Bay Area, ran a successful business building agricultural water pumps for farms across California’s San Joaquin Valley. That meant Candido understood pumps.

When he looked closely at the hospital’s hydrotherapy equipment, he realized it wasn’t nearly as advanced as it appeared.

So Candido built a portable version, the J-300, which turned the family bathtub into a therapeutic whirlpool. For Ken, it was a breakthrough. Yet for his Candido, the invention represented an even bigger opportunity.

After Candido showed the design to Ken’s doctors, they agreed that plenty of other people could benefit from hydrotherapy at home. He convinced his family to take the pump to consumers.

The Jacuzzis launched a high-profile promotional push, including giving the product away on the nationally syndicated TV show “Queen for a Day.”

The family name became a sensation almost overnight. Celebrity endorsements followed, and the company expanded into Canada, Brazil, and even Italy.

Photo from Unsplash

More than 60 years later, the name has outgrown the company. In fact, it’s become a descriptor for an entire product category. For many people, Jacuzzi simply means hot tub, regardless of who manufactured it. It’s also synonymous with quality and reliability.

In other words, even though competitors can sell similar products, they can’t replicate Jacuzzi’s perceived authority.

Why Brand Strength is A Real Advantage

Brand strength is one of the most powerful advantages a business can have over its competitors. It’s because it often serves as a tiebreaker, nudging customers towards one product over another, one service over another, or even one brand over another.

Alternatives to a product or service can exist, yet if a company is able to build such a strong brand equity, customers will choose its offerings over others every time.

Strong brands can also elevate a company’s pricing power. Consumers would rather pay more to own a name they know associate with quality and reliability.

Jacuzzi became deeply ingrained in its customers’ consciousness, enabling it to compound long term and enjoy decades of strong brand equity.

What Can Financial Advisors Take Away from Jacuzzi’s Story?

This story offers two key takeaways:

• Brand strength deserves a place in your due diligence. When evaluating companies for client portfolios, look for businesses whose names carry real authority among customers.

• The same logic applies to your own financial advisory practice. The advisors who get the most referrals tend to be the ones whose names come to mind first when someone asks:

  “Do you know anyone who can help me manage my money and assets?”

Brand strength matters.

A well-defined identity can set businesses apart and help them maximize their earning power long-term.

The same applies to financial advisors. Being the first name people think of when it comes to financial concerns will do wonders for your practice.

Best regards,

Joel Litman & Rob Spivey
Chief Investment Officer &
Director of Research
at Valens Research

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