Tom Rinks got his start in the commission-only "shark tank" of midwestern furniture sales. That’s where he learned what makes customers buy. Decades later, those instincts helped him grow a joke of a side hustle into a $400 million success.

In 2009, he created the iconic branding for an obscure sun tan lotion, drawing on a mish-mash of surf culture, Scandinavian furniture, and Japanese streetwear. Sun Bum became a huge success, but even before that, Tom helped boost a wildly diverse range of brands: a line of tequila, a series of Christian videos, and the ubiquitous “Yo quiero Taco Bell” campaign. All were successful, though it took a prolonged legal battle for Tom to get paid for the Taco Bell chihuahua.

In this episode, Tom reveals how he learned to manipulate consumer psychology, survive the brutal warfare of a stolen idea, and engineer a brand explosion on his own terms.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Chihuahuas and Apes: How the Right Mascot can Transform a Brand
• What it takes to survive a five-year legal battle against a corporate titan.
• The "Elvis Principle:” How combining unexpected design elements can create an unforgettable package
• The "Trojan Horse" Strategy: Why forcing retailers to buy a massive display creates the illusion of a brand overnight.

TIMESTAMPS

• 05:50 - What selling furniture taught Tom about customer psychology
• 07:00 - How the Slogan“Surf Michigan” got him into the T-shirt Business
• 22:42 - Psycho Chihuahua, Taco Bell, and the Branding Deal that Wasn’t
• 29:09 - Inside the grueling battle over a chihuahua mascot. “I was the guy suing Taco Bell.”
• 34:55 - A dramatic legal verdict, and Tom’s branding business takes off with fancy Tequila
• 45:07 - The sun screen opportunity: “I saw a gigantic hole that you could drive through.”
• 50:23 - How Tom and his partner came up with their “badass ape” logo
• 1:01:26 - Opening (fake) Sun Bum headquarters in Cocoa Beach, Fla
• 1:04:21- Early store displays and making the brand seem bigger than it was
• 1:08:46 - A $400M sale to SC Johnson, and Tom starts a new company

This episode was researched by Katherine Sypher and Susannah Broun and produced by Casey Herman, with music by Ramtin Arablouei, and edited by Neva Grant.

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