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I’m not a fan of “spinning a story.” Ask any of my former colleagues … the very term makes me bristle. Spin implies not telling all the facts, glossing over the things we don’t want others to know, adding fictional elements to improve how an organization, a person or a product is perceived, and outright blatant deception.
Webster’s definition is a bit more refined: to make or produce in a way suggestive of spinning (to spin a tale)” and/or “a particular emphasis or slant imparted to information in order to create a desired effect, such as a favorable public image for a politician.”
Of course, being in an election year in the US means we’re bombarded with spin from all sides. Then there’s the daily pharmaceutical spin and the economic crisis spin. Let’s face it … it’s spin overload! Where can you turn for information you can trust?
I’m not the only consumer frustrated by a lack of authenticity in the political landscape and the marketplace. It’s a hot topic right now because we’re all more than a little tired of being lied to. A Google blog search brings back 2,752,935 results on the topic of authenticity.
Although we have little, if any control over the spin coming at us, we do have complete control over what we disseminate.
Valeria at Conversation Agent defines authentic marketing as “the expression of a company culture through marketing communication in human speak. A simple digest of complex information of what the company helps you do that makes it interesting. More storytelling and appreciative inquiry than positioning.” She goes on to translate this idea to authentic internal communications and public relations. It’s an interesting article enhanced by some great comments from her readers.
Our customers are looking for the real deal. We know that people buy from people they trust, so how can we be more authentic in our marketing materials? Again, according to Valeria, “if we approached telling the story of the organization/product/service in an appreciative inquiry format, we would be talking about what it does well. We would then go back and do more of that, making the product even better.”
I like that! Authenticity not only cuts through the clutter, but it helps us create a better product/service for our customers. Imagine what our world could be like if our politicians, pharmaceutical companies, and economic prognosticators stopped the spin cycle and focused on the truth. No, I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen, but it does impact how I market my own business and how I approach marketing for my client base. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
Photo Credit: Viewmaker (Creative Commons)
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Entries (RSS)
April 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Thank you for fleshing out the topic, Shari. And for the link, you are very kind. In my day job I get many pitches from PR flaks that state they can help us “spin” our message… I wish we could just use that word for the amusement park. Language matters!
April 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Yes to politicians and pharmaceutical companies telling their transparent truth. Wow wouldn’t that be great? I guess it’s up to us to lead by example and lay it all out for folks in our marketing efforts. Telling the whole story allows potential clients to trust us even more. I vote for an authentic message.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Authentic information is hard to come by, and I value it very highly. Glad you take the high road.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Thank you all for your comments! Please excuse the slowness of my response. In the interest of authenticity, and if you’ll pardon the pun, I’ll say that this time of year in the US is quite taxing!