Seth Godin wrote a book called “All Marketers are Liars,” and then he retitled it “All Marketers Tell Stories.” Forgive me for oversimplifying, but the gist of this book is simple: some stories become true because people believe them. Good marketers tell good stories that may not be objectively true, but they become true when the audience believes them.
I have the best parents in the world. This is an indisputable fact. Disagree, and I will fight you.
Do I actually have the BEST parents in the world? How could we even measure that?
So much of marketing involves non-objective claims like the one I’m making about my parents, but go ahead and ask me, “Hey Brett, do you have the best parents in the world?”
YES. I DO. FIGHT ME.
In Godin’s book, he shares an example about wine tasting better in certain glasses. Does the glass actually change the wine? No! Of course not. But ask someone who believes the story, and they will tell you: YES. The glass improves the wine. And with something subjective like the taste of a glass of wine or the worldwide ranking of parents, sometimes truth is in the mind of the opiner.
Ah geez, do I even mention this here?
What’s the difference between “stories” from marketers and “fake news?”
Perhaps this is a good time to confess I have pretty major OCD. No, I don’t alphabetize my books… although I did just turn around and check my bookshelf because that is a thing I would do. But they are organized by size for a uniform appearance in my Zoom background, thank you very much.
I have diagnosed, medicated, therapized, full-blown OCD of a moral flavor. Integrity, authenticity, and honesty are very important to me.
I can’t be a part of generating fake news. I can’t be a liar. Perhaps I can be a storyteller? But I must be authentic.
I am telling you right now, with all the honesty, sincerity, integrity, and authenticity I can muster, I have the best parents in the world.
In Search of Stories I Can Believe
I could put together a compelling case for why I have the best parents in the world, and many people would be persuaded. I am a pretty good marketer, and I have a lot of data and meaningful stories to back up the claim, “Dennis and Patti Fairbourn are the best parents in the world.” Unfortunately, no one pays for marketing campaigns for my parents.
CrewTracks paid me to take care of their marketing for several years, and that was a dream come true. I got to take part in creating the purpose, values, and mission of the company, and I saw first-hand what a huge difference the software made in the lives and businesses of customers. I told a bunch of great stories about CrewTracks, and prospects believed them. One of the stories I told was about CrewTracks’ commitment to customer service. We created the brand promise, “Every customer has a contact they know by name.” I told stories like, “We have a support phone number, but it doesn’t ring often because people just call their contact directly.” In hindsight, that’s a great example of a Seth Godin self-fulfilling prophecy. Was the story true when I started telling it? Yeah, but we were a tiny company with a few dozen customers. By continuing to tell that story, we essentially said to customers, “Hey, customer, don’t be a dummy and call the generic phone number and choose option 2 and cross your fingers. Call your guy at CrewTracks.” Well, that sounds like a great idea. So they did that, and it worked, and the story remained true because people believed it.
But you know what was even more important for me, CrewTracks’ VP of Marketing?
I believed the stories I was telling about CrewTracks.
I’m working with CrewTracks again, this time as a client of my marketing consulting business, and it’s an absolute joy to tell stories about CrewTracks again, because I believe them. Here’s one: CrewTracks is the most conscientious software company I have ever seen in terms of quality assurance and releasing bug-free updates. I know the people directly involved in the direction, execution, and review of CrewTracks’ updates, and not only do they insist on quality, they also ask me to report any issues I find while preparing messaging about new features. CrewTracks cares about customers experience, and they will take critical feedback from anywhere they can get it, because they understand both meanings of the word “critical.”
Great, there’s one client I’m proud to work with. I need more. I need more stories I can believe, because I’m not the VP of Marketing at CrewTracks anymore. I’m the owner and sole member of “The Ultimate Marketer, LLC,” and I have OCD. I must be fully authentic. It’s the only way I can operate.
Is this going to work? Can I be fully authentic while “telling stories” as The Ultimate Marketer?
Clytie Adams School of Ballet
Clytie Adams School of Ballet has the best production of The Nutcracker in the world. YES. THEY DO. FIGHT ME.
Clytie’s production of the Nutcracker is an unparalleled cultural phenomenon.
I’ll say it again.
Clytie’s production of the Nutcracker is an unparalleled cultural phenomenon.
You might not believe me yet, but I believe me. Ask me about my parents, ask me about Clytie Adams School of Ballet, ask me about CrewTracks, and I’ll stand up tall and make some pretty bold claims, and I’ll bring receipts.
What’s so great about The Nutcracker as presented by Clytie Adams School of Ballet? Oh, I don’t know, maybe let’s start with the fact that the lead roles are performed by professional dancers from Ballet West. Yes, that Ballet West, founded in 1963, boasting the first and longest-running version of The Nutcracker in the country.
Now, I hear you thinking, “Okay, Brett, it sounds like Clytie Adams borrows dancers from the best version of The Nutcracker in the world. That’s not the same.”
Sure, if what you’re looking for is top-notch professional ballet, Ballet West is the way to go. But what if you want that AND MORE?
More? How?
Good question. Please be patient. I’m trying to tell you.
The cast of Clytie Adams’ production of The Nutcracker includes top-notch dancers that take your breath away with their gravity-defying leaps, flawless lines, and sweeping lifts, just like Ballet West’s production. The show also includes a professional, live orchestra, just like Ballet West’s production. But Clytie also includes hundreds of local ballet students, which means:
- Ballet students get to share the stage, the joy, the music, and the applause with professionals. Imagine if someone found a way to help hundreds of youth football players score an actual touchdown on the field with NFL players. Not as a gimmick; as a real game, with professional athletes and kids working together. This is what Clytie Adams has accomplished for ballet students in Davis County, Utah.
- At any given moment, someone in the audience is shedding tears of joy for their dancer. This audience is invested.
- In fact, the audience is so invested that they provide thousands of volunteer hours to make the production possible.
Hundreds of young students. Thousands of volunteer hours. Live orchestra. Professional dancers from Ballet West. I’ll say it a third time: Clytie’s production of the Nutcracker is an unparalleled cultural phenomenon, and I get to live in the community where it all happens.
This is a story I believe in.
How Can I Help Tell The Story?
I attended the parents’ meeting for Clytie Adams’ production of The Nutcracker for the first time last September because my 9-year-old daughter had landed a part in the show. My wife was at work, so it was just me and my girls at the meeting. My wife took part in Clytie’s first production of The Nutcracker in 1995, and her family has been volunteering every year since. My father-in-law is on the transportation committee, and thanks to him, the sets, costumes, props, etc. make it back and forth between the venue and storage year after year.
I arrived at the parents’ meeting planning on volunteering with the transportation committee with my father-in-law, but then they announced the sponsorship committee’s desperate need for a graphic designer. I raised my hand, and it was a joy and privilege to design ads for the show’s program, including these:
I didn’t know I was in search of stories I could believe, but here they were. Local businesses with local ownership serving my community while propping up the world’s best production of The Nutcracker. These businesses make it possible. These are my people, and I’m invested in their stories.
Authenticity in Marketing
I want to serve these companies that helped make Clytie Adams’ 29th production of The Nutcracker a reality, and I have a ton of ideas for these businesses individually, collaboratively, and in combination with The Nutcracker. Their belief in the unparalleled cultural phenomenon happening in our community makes it easy for me to believe in them and their stories.
I invite you to follow along in my quest to provide fully authentic marketing that makes zero compromises in terms of integrity and honesty while continuing the Seth Godin tradition of telling stories. We begin by serving Neverland Emporium. Will they hire me? Who knows! But I want to serve them either way. Watch the video below to see what I mean.