Who would have guessed that Sir Walter Scott would have anticipated the nature of modern American marketing in the dawn of the 19th century? In his epic poem, “Marmion,” he famously wrote,
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
when first we practice to deceive!”
At just the moment when buyers are the most cynical, distrusting almost any straight marketing message, we find companies who are using alternative marketing forms to get their messages out. Who disguises their marketing in the form of something else? Perhaps the best example of this is the product placement technique used in movies and on TV shows. It’s not unusual to see a reality series almost come to a complete stop in its storytelling so one of the “characters” can face the camera and pitch a product to the audience.
“Survivor” routinely offers cars and other goodies as incentives, but we all know that was part of an advertising deal. “The Biggest Loser” breaks the narrative flow to tout a food option with the host or trainer serving as pitch person. This is commonplace.
There is no other reason to do this than to separate the marketing message from traditional styles and make it appear as if it were something that it is not. When we blur this line, we purposefully set out to deceive our audience and make them believe that our product or service is something other than what it really is. We are indeed weaving a tangled web. Once deceived, a prospective buyer is almost certainly lost for years.
I’ve often wondered about the incentive to use deception in marketing practices. Certainly stretching the truth is a time-honored tradition. Consider the job candidate who stretches the truth on his resume, who says he was the leader of a successful initiative when, in fact, he was only part of it. Our reaction is not nearly as severe to that kind of practice as it would be to a candidate who presents himself as a goal-oriented, hard worker when, in fact, he’s kind of lazy.
I’ve talked about it a lot on these pages, but I’m a firm believer that we have a unique opportunity in our marketing messages these days. Never before have we had so many outlets, through electronic and social media, to showcase our strengths, establishing ourselves as thought leaders and experts. Why would we undermine that opportunity by choosing a method that is something it isn’t? Why would we purposefully deceive when there is so much to be gained by being straightforward with our prospects?
If you have a great product or service, if you can erect metal buildings the most efficiently and with the highest level of service, shouldn’t you be shouting that from the rooftop? Not trying to sneak it through? I still believe, even as cynical as audiences are, that a marketing message that shows how a product or service is better will be received. But it has to be shown, not just said. Proven, not just stated.
