In 1854, at the Crystal Palace Exhibition

P.T. Barnum, a famous showman, stood high up on an elevator platform. ‍

The crowd was drawn in, curious to see what would happen. ‍

The crowd grew bigger and bigger, all watching closely. ‍

Suddenly, someone cut the rope of the elevator Barnum was standing on. ‍

The elevator started to fall. ‍

Everyone screamed. ‍

But then something incredible happened. ‍

A safety brake stopped the elevator from falling almost immediately. ‍

The crowd was relieved. ‍

P.T. Barnum calmly told everyone, ‍

“All safe, gentlemen, all safe.” ‍

This exciting show sparked the sale of 27 elevators. ‍

And the beginning of the biggest elevator wholesaler we know today ‍

Otis. ‍

Over the next generation, sky-scraping buildings with elevators began to rise all over the world. ‍

They now move 2 billion people a day and maintain 2.2 million customer units worldwide.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed it, I curate more real-world B2B marketing examples like this at The Growth Archive :)