- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Portfolio (May 24 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1591841003
- ISBN-13: 978-1591841005
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.5 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #162,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Advertising's fundamental theorem-that perception trumps reality-informs this dubious marketing primer. Journalist and marketing guru Godin, author of Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, contends that, in an age when consumers are motivated by irrational wants instead of objective needs and "there is almost no connection between what is actually there and what we believe," presenting stolid factual information about a product is a losing strategy. Instead, marketers should tell "great stories" about their products that pander to consumers' self-regard and worldview. Examples include expensive wine glasses that purport to improve the taste of wine, despite scientific proof to the contrary; Baby Einstein videotapes that are "useless for babies but...satisfy a real desire for their parents"; and organic marketing schemes, which amount to "telling ourselves a complex lie about food, the environment and the safety of our families." Because consumers prefer fantasy to the truth, the marketer's duty is to be "authentic" rather than honest, to "live the lie, fully and completely" so that "all the details line up"-that is, to make their falsehoods convincing rather than transparent. Troubled by the cynicism of his own argument, Godin draws a line at deceptions that actually kill people, like marketing infant formula in the Third World, and elaborates a murky distinction between "fibs" that "make the thing itself more effective or enjoyable" and "frauds" that are "solely for the selfish benefit of the marketer." To illustrate his preferred approach to marketing, the author relates a grab bag of case studies, heavy on emotionally compelling pitches and seamless subliminal impressions. Readers will likely find the book's practical advice as rudderless as its ethical principles.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I have no intention of telling you the truth. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I have no intention of telling you the truth. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent,
By
This review is from: All Marketers Are Liars (Hardcover)
For a new to marketing like me, reading this book was an eye opener. In general though, it aligns with the current common belief(-opinion) that we, the humans, are 'wired up' such that we only notice (and allow to receive) information that reinforce our existing views, called 'worldviews' in the book. From this idea, Seth Godin derives a number of techniques to 'frame' marketing messages such that your target audience will take. Those I think are worth trying (and I plan to do for my new startup)
Beside that, as most of his books are, this is an easy to read, spiced up with good humor and practical examples. Highly recommend investing your time into reading it
4.0 out of 5 stars
This book in combination with his Web site makes for a good combo,
By
This review is from: All Marketers Are Liars (Hardcover)
The main concept of the book is advertising is not marketing and in order to get people to listen to your message you must tell authentic stories. Seth argues people make up lies for themselves when buying a product or service. Like Starbucks will make you part of a social elite or buying a frozen meal you make in the crock pot is the same as preparing a home-made dinner yourself. Godin says marketers need to propose these lies to match their target market's worldview. Basically you need to tell a compelling lie to the appropriate audience.
Of course Godin doesn't suggest marketers should really tell lies, but rather stories. The title comes from a strategy of using an oxymoron to describe a product or service, something that will stand out by creating an absurd juxtaposition in their mind. If there is one large takeaway from this book its to create your story and ensure it's authentic. If you create a story about great customer service and then hire the cheapest labour and fail to train them, don't be surprised if your business falters because consumers who came in for one purchase saw the hype didn't match the experience and never came back. I reviewed this book in more detail on my Web site: [...]
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among the best, most honest marketing books out there,
By
This review is from: All Marketers Are Liars (Hardcover)
As a veteran marketer for both the high end real-estate industry and E-commerce, we have to read every marketing book out there.
This book is probably the best Why? Because it cuts to the chase All marketing is just storytelling, that's it. And that's all it really is. Even if you have an amazing product, you still have to tell a story about it, and in reality, the easiest people to convince are people who already believe a part of it. Any marketer who fails to understand this, fails in general. If we are talking about ad-words campaigns etc, and the world of catch-e-marketing, then the rules are a bit augmented, but the principle is still the same And it will always be the same Our world is an amalgamation of stories, worldviews and beliefs, and our current industrial model was created to manufacture wants and needs. If you have to convince someone they want or need something, they better believe the thread of the story you are appealing to them with. A+ for Seth Godin, a must have in any marketers collection.
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