The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World

Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them.
We believe that wine tastes better in a glass than a glass.
We believe that an ,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to
a ,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that
5 Pumas will make our feet feel better-and look cooler-than
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.

Download File Size:134.12 MB

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