January 23 - For years PR pros and marketers have used spin, hype and scripts to promote their wares to an often unsuspecting public. As consumers have become more savvy to their methods, so to have the means for integrating messages into just about every aspect of life. From advertorials, sponsorships and clever product placements, the deft hand of professional communicators is at work 24/7. Not that this is all bad. Media and entertainment would be prohibitively expensive without these efforts. It’s the sneakier of the professional peddlers that begs caution. And makes the work of honest marketing and PR more difficult. The public is cynical.
In the old days – in the pre-digital era not so long ago – it was easier to get away with the hype. It was harder to discover the truth. But now, consumers rule the web. Their reviews and word-of-mouth make the truth hard to hide. Google makes it easy to search for information about virtually anything. And those companies trying to hide the truth – those with products that don’t keep their promises – will find it tougher to sustain their business. Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed. Sometimes it’s a trickle. Others it’s popping out in all directions. But once it’s out – mercy will not be bestowed.
But what if we didn’t need hype and puffery. What if we could just tell people the unvarnished truth about our offerings? Wouldn’t that be a whole lot more fun than making up talking points. Or skirting reality to deliver flimsy product claims? What about putting more magic in our products so they sold themselves. So that our customers were so delighted they sold them for us. Just by telling everyone how great they were. Now that’s powerful. And that’s what the truth can do for you. You just need worthy goods to start with. Make it so.
