Marketers do not lie, they’ve never lied (if we were to live in a perfect world). Maybe at the beginning when they were still rookies and didn’t know what’s what yet. But they’ve learned that in marketing there are no lies, just stories (or at least that’s how it should be).
People/Clients/Consumers took the bait of the story even if it was just a lie dressed in expensive clothes. All this until the moment they got this gift –THE POWER OF INFORMATION!
Since then, stories have changed, delivery ways are not the same as they were in Charles Hopkins’s time (maybe that’s why Seth Godin has something to say in this field).
Before the information era (or let’s call it “internet era”) a story’s road was like this:
Brand -> Story -> Client -> Brand
Today, things have changed.
Brand -> Story -> Client -> Information -> Brand
Information got in the mix and makes the difference between a story based on a truth or a lie.
Speakers keep saying in vain at the hundreds of conferences that brands should be transparent, communicative, creative, close to the clients, etc. When they forget that information is the one that gives the verdict of the story: It’s good or bad!
Early in the past the difference between brands was in the story: Brands who deliver stories, and brand who don’t, today we can talk of a difference between brands that deliver true stories (based on facts/information) and brands who deliver false stories (based on nothing).
Ok, let’s take it this way. You can go to court with a series of examples and stories, but if they’re not based on clear evidence you won’t be taken into consideration, right? That’s exactly how it is in the world of brands. You can say stories all you want, you can have the power of convincing, you can be the greatest storyteller, without proof you won’t be taken into consideration. Why? Because information can be your best friend or your greatest enemy. You choose how you want to use it!
In conclusion
If you choose to tell stories, at least use the evidence you have because don’t forget => your clients are not as stupid as you might think.
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