Seth Godin Is A Dirty, Rotten Liar! (Not Really)

Seth Godin is the kind of character and author that you either love - or love to hate. I find myself happily in the first camp. I find his view of the world and of marketing to be refreshing and insightful. I have always walked away from a personal encounter with Seth having learned something new and having been encouraged to think about familiar things in new and different ways. The same holds true for his books. I have devoured Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside, Permission Marketing, Unleashing the IdeaVirus.

His new book has just been released to bookstores. All Marketers Are Liars (The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World) stands on the shoulders of his previous books and builds the case for storytelling being at the heart of all marketing activities. And for Seth, the medium is often a crucial part of the message. Packaging is part of the story. Ergo, limited editions of Purple Cow came packed inside purple and white half gallon milk cartons. Free Prize Inside was sold inside a cereal box. All Marketers Are Liars features a picture of Seth Godin looking strangely like the love child of Pinocchio and Cyrano de Bergerac!

The deliberately arresting and provocative title of the book makes Seth's point succinctly. In telling us the title of his book - he is telling us a lie. The book is not really about the fact that marketers lie (although some do). It is about the fact that consumers tell themselves lies all the time to justify buying what they want rather than what they truly need. We tell ourselves stories about the products and services we desire. And the successful marketer finds ways to control the storytelling process.

"Stories let us lie to ourselves. And those lies satisfy our desires. It's the story, not the good or the service you actually sell, that pleases the consumer." (p. 84)

The heart of Seth's argument can be found in this pithy statement: "Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner or the iPod."

Every marketer, sales person and business executive should read this book and then engage in some healthy reflection and self-analysis.

Every consumer should read it to gain better understanding about what moves us to want and then to buy the things that we acquire.

I enjoyed this book. No lie!