• The Modern Man

    Posted on July 12th, 2006 by and currently 3 commenting.

    Carlin Screen Shot.jpg

    I have to thank my dad for directing me to this video on YouTube. Aside from it being very funny (hooray for George Carlin!), there’s something very powerful about hearing that many buzz words and catch phrases all at once. I think it’s an important lesson in learning to use words that really matter… as opposed to words that just sound like they really matter.

    Words are powerful, but we can weaken them all too easily when we assign them buzzword status. That’s why it’s so important to explore vocabulary – REAL vocabulary – when conducting consumer insight. There is nothing that gives you away as “just another marketer” faster than using inauthentic words.

  • paul

    It’s a funny and amazing riff. I used to listen to Carlin’s stuff from the 60′s and 70′s, and he’s still got an amazing random access memory. Not one stumble!

    His work has always poked and prodded at the inauthentic, the contrived and the false. What a timely and relevent post, and linking to it raises the question: can corporations who spend enormous efforts strategically communicating their value to various audiences BE authentic? If so, how?

    I do think that customers – people, humans – want a better sense of reality from the companies and representatives they deal with. There’s a whole lot less of it thanks to various forces. I personally am turned off by too much heavy-handedness, over-enthusiasm. It feels close to if not the same as falsity. Feels like something’s being forced on me. I often have an equal and opposite reaction.

    The problem is: if marketing is centrally focused on creating needs, persuading purchases and manipulating markets, how is it possible to be ‘authentic’ when a desired outcome is part of the mandate?

  • http://brainsonfire.com Jennifer

    Paul –

    That’s a great point. By definition – isn’t marketing always inauthentic… since it’s trying to create a need or desire that probably doesn’t already exist? Perhaps. But, the intent behind a particular marketing avenue, the methods used to connect with your audience, the invitation to engage in a dialogue… can that be authentic? I think so. First of all, the marketer can never pretend that the ultimate goal is not to sell more stuff. Of course that’s the goal. Don’t insult your audience’s intelligence by saying it isn’t. But since we know it’s there, why drag it out and hit it with the advertising stick every chance we get? Just let it be.
    Second, (and you will have heard this before) let your customers take control of the dialogue. Don’t force them into it. Simply give them an inroad that is authentic to the brand and to their brand experience, and let them come to you.
    Third, LISTEN and RESPOND. Your customers will get bored and frustrated if they feel like they’re speaking into a vacuum. So make sure to respond to them in their language and address their concerns.
    Summing up – I think there are opportunities for authenticity in brand communication. Of course, it’s a lot easier said than done, eh?

  • paul

    I LOVE this. Yes, yes and yes.

    Tone has so much to do with authenticity, methinks, especially for those of us hyper-aware of the nuances, and in the business of tone. Whether it’s a voice, a style, a personality, a scenario, a line…plus I think we’ve moved as a culture to a very sophisticated level of understanding. And better (elegant) communication requires real care, subtlety – in execution from an idea. Complex.

    A GREAT thing: On a few other BOF posts, I’ve entered into discussions about many of these related topics, so it’s unique and great to be having a linked conversation with you, here, on this. It actually makes me think (again, perception’s king, n’est-ce pas?) that you ALL share a similar passion for and expertise in the subject. Just by entering these “discussions”. How’s that for empirical data?! (But you know that.)

    I re-read the ClueTrain Manifesto a few weeks ago, written in the web explosion of 2000 (it was then the key tome for the large web agency I was with). Among others, one of its central premises was that markets are conversations. At the time, this was metaphoric. Now as a result of simple, and not-so-simple, technologies it’s a cross-platform functional reality.

    It seems that the 3 great points you make are all true whether one is selling (direct sales, sales promotion), developing new business relationships (through awareness advertising/new product launches/on-going marketing), or providing product or service through any system of interaction/delivery -in person, on the web, on TV, etc.

    It’s the “let customers take control” line that sends most companies screaming from the room.

    Maybe it’s: when #1 and #3 are crafted and done well, you can relax a little with #2 – and loosen the bone, Wilma.

    And from a business standpoint, I think people and their businesses have a hard time if they doubt they’re doing #1 and #3 well, so they STRANGLE #2.

    I do like the discussion on authenticity in the market, though. It runs counter to the perception (based on some factual evidence) that many customers feel duped and and manipulated, bashed and unheard.