Scott's Liquid Gold Expands Line And Celebrates 55th Anniversary

The iconic cans of Scott's Liquid Gold reached their current design in 2002, when the "Flintstone" lettering was done away with and the three-drop motif was established.

The Scott's Liquid Gold brand is one of the most ubiquitous brands in the U.S. In 1951, widow Ida Goldstein bought the brand and formula for $350 as a small business opportunity for her oldest son, Jerry. In a small, one-car garage in Denver, her sons Jerry and Ivan hand-filled and hand-labeled discarded soda bottles and sold the bottles and refills door-to-door.

The company has since grown into a thriving business with nationally distributed products that also include Touch of Scent Air Fresheners and Neoteric Cosmetics products. The company still manufactures, packages, and ships all their products from their Denver plant. Jerry's son and Ida's grandson, Mark Goldstein, became president of the company in 1991. April 4, 2006 was not only the 55th anniversary of the purchase of the brand, but also the 50th birthday of Mark.

The growth of the brand over the years is a story of the evolution of the brand and the evolution of packaging that made the brand iconic and ubiquitous. The evolution traces packaging developments as Scott's Liquid Gold responded to trends in packaging at the time, as well as requirements for dispensing the product. Though the brand has had more than 20 packaging iterations over five decades, most adults would recognize the familiar gold and red can colors from the opposite end of a Lowe's or Wal-Mart aisle.

A packaging progression

The history of Scott's Liquid Gold packaging reflects the changes in the packaging industry over the last 55 years.

In the early '50s, Ivan Goldstein was beginning a design career outside of Scott's Liquid Gold when he was enlisted to start the brand design off on the right foot. First he developed the scripted "Scott's" logo in a circle, and the thick lettering for "Liquid Gold." These elements have persevered for the most part in today's Scott's Liquid Gold packaging.

One detour along the way was the gradual evolution of the "Liquid Gold" lettering into what company employees now affectionately refer to as the "Flintstone" lettering. The packaging has since recovered and today presents a much cleaner brand image.

The structure that began in glass moved into cylindrical plastic bottles in 1959, as the labels could then be mechanically applied. When the first can was used in 1970, the company also embarked on its first national TV campaign. Three years later, Scott's Liquid Gold developed the first aerosol product in cans labeled "Safe CO2 Aerosol." Jerry Goldstein was pleased that they could avoid CFCs because there is no water in the product. That 1973 can also introduced the reflective gold printing that is similar to what is on the can today.

The Scott's Liquid Gold "drop" was born in 1978, but the can did not reach its current level of refinement until 2002, when fresh eyes were intent on making the strongest, cleanest presentation possible. The 2002 design added the three-drop motif, put "Liquid Gold" front and center, discarded the Flintstone type, and tightened the whole presentation up.

Today's line and extensions

The company's core products are still the Almond Aerosol, Lemon Aerosol, and Almond Pourable wood cleaner and preservative products. Though their product line has been small for many years, Scott's Liquid Gold manages to still be omnipresent in the retail market, standing tall in a wide range of national retail environments. "We're challenged to be a small brand in a very large world," Mark Goldstein says.

The new brand extensions for Scott's Liquid Gold clearly carry over the strengths of name and design recognition.

Mary Lou Egan has led the company's design team for six years, and believes the strengths of the Scott's Liquid Gold packaging are how it conveys a clean image with consistency and how it maintains their well-earned heritage. "The gold is still the subtle suggestion that we are a premium brand," Egan says. "We're always trying to maintain heritage so people will recognize the brand."

Egan knows that it is sometimes challenging to remain true to the brand because the competition keeps trying to break through with new packaging. But Egan believes if you maintain a confident message on a premium product, it reinforces the premium appeal. "We're able to do express premium with consistency," says Egan.

Undoubtedly, the can is what identifies the brand. But inevitably, consumers' habits and expectations change. In the last two years, Scott's Liquid Gold has introduced two variations on their product in an effort to improve consumer utility. There's a Wood Wash formula for floors and a Wood Wipes product for quick polishing. The new packaging is very friendly and ergonomic to promote efficient use, but the Scott's Liquid Gold brand remains consistently strong.

Before introducing the newest products, the company worried that consumers felt the can was outdated or did not seem to fit the product anymore. They were surprised, however, to discover how strong the brand recognition was with younger consumers. Category analysis told them that the overall category was declining, as there is a lot less wood furniture being purchased these days. They also learned that today's consumers do a lot less cleaning, or want to do less cleaning, or at least want to be efficient cleaners.

Egan and her team were happy to be able to express the brand in four-color labels, and designed vibrant, glossy labels that take the brand safely into new territory. Egan believes there was no need to over-promote on these new packages because consumers know the quality is consistent.

The labels allowed Egan to add "use" environments, clearly showing that the Wood Wash is great for floors and the Wood Wipes are "Quick & Easy" for furniture cleaning. There are also strategically placed sparkles on the labels, which Mark says are partly in memory of his father Jerry, whom many say sparkled in his own way.