Gotta take issue with my KMM colleague George Parker over at Adhurl, whose hilarious asides there, and at Adscam never fail to crack me up, but I happen to think Seth Godin is worh reading. Godin's mini-tomes might appear to be titles looking for books, but he makes you think. Which, for some marketers and brand managers, I realize, is akin to walking barefoot on hot sand: if you must, do it quickly. But the fact is that we traffic in tall-tales and myth and folklore, the "lies" that Godin says are what marketing is all about, all the time. This is the gist of the Godin gospel. That we tend to want to believe the stories associated with the brands we come to know and love. Or the ones we won't have anything to do with. Consider that Bill O'Reilly of Fox News makes it public that his indignance with what Exxon/Mobil paid CEO Lee Raymond prevents O'Reilly from buying Exxon gas. Granted, Raymond's $400MM (stock, etc.)was rather jarring in light of what people paid at the pump in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and will continue to pay during the balance of this year. But what about Steve Jobs' $775 million in stock sales? Raymond runs the biggest, most profitable company in the world, and has presided over equity appreciation that's helped millions of 401Ks. Isn't Raymond's job more important than that of the CEO of a company basically devoted to entertainment? We want to believe that oil companies get rich at our expense and that CEOs shouldn't be "paid" so much because they're ripping us off. Actors, athletes and musicians make us feel good. They're entitled to whatever they get. But how many people do Harrison Ford and Jennifer Anniston employ? Does your stock portfolio appreciate every time Tiger wins a major? OK, I'm wandering a bit here, but the fact remains that "lies" -- the stories we want to hear and tell and believe -- drive reputations and perceptions and opinions...and purchases. Whether you're snubbing the Exxon station down the street because Exxon "exploits" you or picking up an iPOD for a graduation gift because it's so cool. Maybe we should update Mark Twain's observation of statistics: There are lies, damn lies, and brands.
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