Early this year while watching Emily in Paris (I swear we watch it only for the Parisien clichés), one of my friends asked why did Emily’s intermittent boyfriend Gabrielle yearn for a Michelin star? The next question, how does a tire company become the ultimate arbiter of gastronomic eminence?
Courtesy- Eater New York
To learn more about the Michelin Star, the Michelin tyre, and the ‘tireless’ relationship, I time-travelled to
1889 France, (I wish I could use literally here!) to a commune called Clermont-Ferrand.
A lofty dream of things to come:
In the same year that saw the rise of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, two trailblazing brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin founded the iconic Michelin tyre empire in the commune approximately 430 km to the south of Paris.
Andre and Edouard Michelin. Courtesy- guide.michelin.com
They started manufacturing tyres for bicycles but eventually realized the larger scope of doing so for automobiles. Amid a France where horse-drawn carriages still reigned supreme and automobiles numbered a mere 3000, the brothers dared to have a grand vision for their company. But here's the kicker - selling tyres wasn't exactly a joyride with such a sparse highway. Most people would use their cars for city driving in Paris or at most to visit a park nearby. The scope of replacing tyres was hardly available.
The Michelin brothers had to formulate an ingenious plan to make people travel. And so they did.
The Michelin Guidebook:
Courtesy- guide.michelin.com
To increase the sale of tyres, motorists needed to be encouraged to hit the road more often and by extension, buy more tyres. So, the brothers invented the Michelin Guidebook. Launched in 1900, the small red handbook had little information on tyres. Its intention was to get people who did not have a car to buy one and for those who had a car, the goal was to make them drive to places they had not visited yet.
The guide featured useful maps, tire-changing advice, and fuelling stops, but its true standout was the restaurant listing. It featured the names of the best restaurants which were worth travelling to for the exquisite gourmet experience. The Michelin brothers' genius lay in marketing a journey for a meal so extraordinary; that it was considered life-changing.
It revolved around showcasing exquisite French cuisine, something close to every heart. The grand plan? Encourage people to venture into uncharted territories, to places their peers had yet to explore. It also featured places where they could change their tyres. It was the Michelin brothers' early take on product placement and the art of creating social currency in an era that had yet to define these concepts.
Notably, over 35,000 copies of this red guidebook were printed and generously distributed for free.
The idea worked and enabled them to spread their work to other countries. For each country, the Michelin empire expanded, a new Michelin Guide was created.
A brand new Michelin Guidebook:
For two decades, the information came for no cost until one fateful incident when Andre Michelin arrived at a tyre shop to see his beloved Michelin Guides being used to prop up a workbench. Based on the principle, ‘Man only truly respects what he pays for, the Michelin Guidebook was relaunched in 1920, this time for a price, of 7 francs to be exact.
The relaunched guidebook introduced a comprehensive list of hotels in Paris and categorized restaurants based on specific criteria. Notably, this version also departed from its previous practice of including paid advertisements.
Acknowledging the rising influence of the guide’s burgeoning gastronomic clout, the brothers recruited an elite squad of undercover epicureans, the culinary clandestine, if you will, had to embark on a mission of dining in disguise and giving their verdict on restaurants incognito. Today, we know them as Michelin Inspectors, who are guided by the core values of Anonymity, Independence, Expertise, Reliability, Passion, and Quality.
Michelin Stars
In the world of fine dining, the coveted stars that adorn top-notch restaurants didn't grace the culinary scene until 1926, when the epicurean universe finally decided to up its game. Back then, they weren't exactly throwing stars around like confetti at a rock concert. They started with just one solitary star. Unlike most star rating systems, one star was not frowned upon. Any number of Michelin Stars granted to a restaurant was an honour and a mark of exemplary craftsmanship in the culinary domain.
To add more flair, definition, and pizzazz, a new hierarchy of stars, two and three was rolled out. In 1936, the criteria were finally unveiled, demystifying the culinary secrets that had been locked away for so long.
In 1955, Michelin rebelled against pricey dining by introducing the Bib Gourmand, which celebrated high-quality, affordable restaurants. Customized by region and country, reflecting local costs of living, the Bib Gourmand still lets you savour gourmet meals without burning a big hole in your pocket. It's a culinary revolution that's all about flavour without the financial fuss.
Courtesy- The List. Are you on it?
The Michelin Guide today
Grâce à, the unique approach, the Michelin Guidebooks became one of the largest bestsellers of the 20th century, selling like hotcakes.
The guide now rates over 40,000 establishments in over 24 territories across three continents. More than 30 million MICHELIN Guides have been sold worldwide since. The top 5 countries with the most Michelin Star restaurants (2022) are:
1. France: 758
2. Japan: 554
3. Italy: 432
4. Germany: 384
5. The United States: 276
A genius content marketing example:
The second chapter of my current read ‘Contagious. Why things catch on’ by Jonah Berger is titled Trigger. It says Triggers are the cues or stimuli in the environment that remind people of something, causing them to talk about it or share it with others. The example of Michelin tires and Michelin stars is a classic illustration of how triggers work. The use of the same Michelin brand name for tires and the Michelin Guide, which awards stars to fine dining establishments, creates a bridge between two very distinct realms: the automotive world and the world of gourmet cuisine.
This is content marketing wizardry at its finest. Michelin managed to immortalize its brand by creating an unbreakable connection between unrelated concepts. It's not just marketing; it's legacy building, a story that'll be told for generations.
Try thinking of Michelin without imagining a culinary masterpiece. It’s like trying to unsee a magic trick.
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