All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (Hardcover)

by Seth Godin (Author) "I have no intention of telling you the truth..." (more)
Key Phrases: purple cow, New York, Fox News, Best Buy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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.
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Product Description
Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better-and look cooler-than $20 no-names . . . and believing it makes it true.

Successful marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story. A story we want to believe.

This is a book about doing what consumers demand-painting vivid pictures that they choose to believe. Every organization-from nonprofits to car companies, from political campaigns to wineglass blowers-must understand that the rules have changed (again). In an economy where the richest have an infinite number of choices (and no time to make them), every organization is a marketer and all marketing is about telling stories.

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.

But beware: If your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. Marketers fail when they are selfish and scurrilous, when they abuse the tools of their trade and make the world worse. That's a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers and Marlboro.

This is a powerful book for anyone who wants to create things people truly want as opposed to commodities that people merely need.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (May 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591841003
• ISBN-13: 978-1591841005
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,766 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad - but Not Original, June 1, 2005

By	Kim Moeller "Marketing Padawan - but the forc... (Denmark) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Godin writes: "This is a whole new way of doing business."

Well, if it is such Seth, then surely You aren't the first marketer to spot this. Therefore, Seth Godin shouldn't take credit for revealing some of the powers of storytelling in marketing.

Other authors were there long before him (e.g. Laurence Vincent, John Simmons, Steve Denning, Christopher Locke, Dave Snowden), who managed to go deeper and further. Mind you though that their individual approaches are very different.

Much of what Godin calls storytelling are simply elements of marketing strategy (already well know to marketers) presented here in a new wrapping called "storytelling". But just because you say so, that doesn't make it so!

Where he writes "You can't out-Amazon Amazon" and "Make your story stand out from the competition", he is simply describing the importance of positioning, and similarly it isn't 'Rocket Science' when he says "Cheap is not marketing". Rather it is leaning up against men like Michael Porter who have been discussing the inherent dangers of price competition for decades.

He does however practice what he preaches. He tells a story that his customers want to believe. It is a pleasant though that success can be achieved simply by telling cute little stories. It is however not as simple as this, which is why I suggest you explore other authors too (See above).

A point I fully agree on is that: "You must aggressively go to the edges and tell a story that only you could tell." However, I don't feel that Godin has followed his own gospel in this case. The story he tells in "All Marketers are Liars" has to a wide extent already been told by a number of other skilful authors.

He still gets 3 stars from me, because I welcome any additions to the body of knowledge available about storytelling in marketing. I believe it is a powerful tool, and it deserves wider recognition.

40 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wholly Cow! (Purple, of Course), June 20, 2005

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Obviously, the purpose of this title is to attract attention. And it does. When you begin to read this book, ignore the title (at least for a while) and focus on Godin's narrative. The appropriateness of Godin's title is best revealed during a careful reading of his lively narrative. As always, his ideas and writing style have Snap! Crackle! and Pop! Think of Godin as a cereal thinker.

In this volume, Godin offers his own profile of a great story: It is true, not because it is factual but because it is consistent and authentic; it offers a promise (e.g. enlightenment, entertainment, inspiration); it can be trusted because it is (to repeat) consistent and authentic; it is subtle; its impact "happens fast"; it appeals (preferably) to all of our senses (seldom, if ever to our logic); it is crafted for a specific audience; it does not contradict itself; and finally, it is in alignment with what its audience already knows, feels, believes, etc. Re the last point, a great story offers a reminder and a reassurance while, paradoxically, challenging conventional wisdom. Above all, it commands attention. Godin's profile of a great story also describes the most effective marketing campaigns.

Here's a question: What do Aesop, Jesus Christ, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), Joel Chandler Harris, and L. Frank Baum have in common? Answer: All were great storytellers who, obviously, can come in all shapes and sizes. One of Godin's most important points is that almost anyone can be a great storyteller IF they (a) have a convincing, indeed compelling story to tell and (b) they tell it to the right audience.

Albeit taken out of context, here are a few brief quotations which are representative of Godin's thinking:

"Every consumer has a worldview that affects the product you want to sell. That worldview alters the way they interpret everything you say and do. Frame your story in terms of the worldview, and it will be heard." (excerpted from page 60)

"People only notice stuff that's new and different. And the moment they notice something new, they start making guesses about what to expect next." (excerpted from page 68)

"Humans are able to make extremely sophisticated judgments in a fraction of a second. And once they've drawn that conclusion, they resist changing it." (excerpted from page 76)

"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 customer." (excerpted from page 84)

"The only stories that work, the only stories with impact, the only stories that spread are the `I can't believe that!' stories. These are the stories that aren't just repeated: these are the stories that demand to be repeated." (excerpted from page 132)

For whom will this book be of greatest value? Good question. My own response is that those who are receptive to rigorous and coherent thinking which is unorthodox will be appreciative of it but only those who are both willing and able to MAKE HIS IDEAS WORK FOR THEM will derive any value from it. First, they must carefully consider the series of nine questions which Godin poses in the final section, "So, What to Do?" Next, they must re-read the book at least once and then formulate their own answers to those nine questions. Throughout that difficult but rewarding process, Godin suggests, they must "understand that the people with a worldview that gives them a bias to listen to you are the most valuable customers on earth. Get permission from them to follow up, then get to work finding new [or much improved] products for the people who want them."

Those who have not already done so are strongly urged to read Godin's earlier works, notably Permission Marketing, Unleash the Ideavirus, Survival Is Not Enough, Purple Cow, and Free Prize Inside!

55 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling beats advertising every time, May 24, 2005

By	David M. Scott "David Meerman Scott" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've always enjoyed Seth Godin's books and have read each of them starting with Permission Marketing (1999) as they've come out. I particularly liked his e-book Really Bad Powerpoint (and how to avoid it) (2001) although I haven't been able to find the (free) download lately.

It was indeed a pleasure to get my Amazon delivery of his latest - "All Marketers Are Liars: The power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world" - the day before a Boston to LA flight. Perfect. Seth has a terrific way of telling his stories in book form as a quick and fun read. I started the book at Logan Airport and finished somewhere over Kansas.

This book is a must read for any marketer who wants to break through the noise of one-way, TV-influenced interruption marketing. Stories are authentic. Interruption is not. I particularly liked the section "Telling Stories in an Internet World." Seth explains why good Web marketing through storytelling beats advertising every time.

The examples are fun, breezy and easy to grasp in several hours of airplane time. And hey, Seth says the stories can even fib a bit as long as they are authentic, reach the intended audience and not a fraud. Because marketers aren't liars, they are just storytellers. We tell stories that consumers want to hear. Want an example? It sounded great for me to say I read All Marketers Are Liars starting at Logan and finishing over Kansas didn't it? Because Kansas in the middle of the US and anyone can gague the speed at which you can finish the book. Guess what? I lied. I actually read the Boston Globe in Logan then took a nap at the beginning of the flight. The plane didn't even fly over Kansas (I asked the pilot). But I did finish "All Marketers Are Liars" on the plane and it is a great book. Read it and learn how to be a better marketer.