Got your attention? That might be a stretch, but one thing is for certain, figures might not lie, but liars figure (at least according to Mark Twain). The problem is, it’s remarkably easy to take legitimate numbers and spin them to mean whatever you want them to mean. It’s even easier to pose poll questions in such a way as to push the subjects to give answer that you want.  That makes surveys, polls, and questionnaires…well…questionable. Think about it. How many times have you been asked a question, and you gave a less than truthful answer? If you’re like most people, the answer is “a bunch.” Turns out, most people answer survey questions with an eye to what they think the people running the survey want to hear. Others simply don’t care. Some like to attempt to skew the results, just for fun. Then again, some take surveys seriously. Problem is, it’s almost impossible to tell the accurate data from the bad. Oh, sure, you can try making the surveys double-blind, expand your sample to eliminate statistical aberrations, even try and cloak the party who’s commissioned the survey. Those techniques can help - a little - but they cannot overcome the central reason that surveys are inaccurate. 

Everybody lies. Read the rest of this entry »

[Editor's Note: this blog post first appeared in our sister blog, Captain Digital Speaks! on November 11.

One of my favorite stories involves a blind street vendor of hot dogs. One day, one his customers suggested that if business was good, he should consider expanding. The customer offered to help the blind vendor with introductions to a banker, and so the vendor ended up buying a second cart, and hiring someone to work for him. That worked out so well, that he was able to buy more carts, and hire more people. This gave him enough discretionary income that he was able to send his son to college. The son majored in business administration. When the kid graduated, he returned home to see that his dad had purchased a corner lot and an old diner trailer that he rennovated and opened as a freestanding restaurant. The son was horrified. “Dad…don’t you know the economy is lousy! You shouldn’t be expanding right now…you need to pull in your horns and hunker down for a long recessionary period. This has got “Depression” written all over it! You’d better be careful, or you’ll lose everything!”

The father thought, “Well…my son did go to college, which I’ve never done, and he did major in business, and he did get a degree. Maybe he’s right.” So he sold the restaurant, sold off the other carts, and went back to working a single street corner, selling hot dogs. He thought, “Boy, my son was right. The economy is lousy.” Read the rest of this entry »

Cars have been much on my mind for the last few days, much like in the halls of Congress and across our great land. (For my take on what ails Detroit, please visit www.captaindigital.net and read today’s post, Motor City Madness.) But from a marketing perspective, this epic battle between Detroit’s finest and the lame duck Congress is…interesting.

What we’ve got here (with apologies to Strother Martin) is a failure to communicate…the truth.

And it’s that failure - and the framing/spin/mendacity that’s going on that is so bloody fascinating. To wit… Read the rest of this entry »

Are you hip to “framing”? If not, let me give you a crash course in the latest marketing jargon:

Framing is the term used to describe the coining of phrases and the spin used to focus the discussion on a specific issue from the point of view of a partisan position.

Framing is a term born from the idea of “framing a discussion,” or using subtle words and phrases to cast a discussion in a particular light. Think about the ongoing argument over gun rights in this country. Those that want to ban possession of certain types of guns (or for that matter, all guns)  by all save the police and military want to frame the discussion in their own terms: “assault weapons,” “gun control,” “Saturday Night Specials,” “Cop Killer bullets” and the like. These terms have helped the Left set the terms of the discussion on their turf, forcing the NRA and those that seek to preserve the rights of individuals to own guns to play defense.

Well, campers, the Episcopal Church has been framed - and those that disagree with that framing are fighting back. Read the rest of this entry »

There is something that everyone has that is precious, from Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to the homeless person living under a bridge. Everyone has the same amount - no more, no less. Most people would kill to get more of it. Most people waste a great deal of what they have of it. And it is the most precious commodity to every marketer. What is it? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the thing…Christmas is a Christian Holiday. There. I’ve said it. 20 years ago, this wouldn’t have been an Earth-shaking admission. (Actually, 20 years ago, it would have been a “no, DUH!” moment.) Today, however, we’ve gone from the secular humanists/atheists/liberal left cabal attempting to get the 10 Commandments and manger displays off courthouse lawns to a direct assault on the meaning of Christmas (nee: “Christ Mass”) itself.

Color me disgusted.

You don’t see Christians trying to ban Halloween (which was a blending of a Wiccan festival and a Christian one - the word “Halloween” comes from “All Hallowed’s Eve” - the day before All Saints Day). You don’t see test tube babies protesting Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day. And you don’t see welfare recipients protesting Labor Day. (Although, I suspect now that I’ve mentioned it, it’s only a matter of time.) So why can’t the loony left leave our holidays alone? Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t confuse me with facts…I’ve got a good theory going here.”

How many times have you heard that? As marketing guys, we deal in perception as well as fact. It’s our job to create narratives to convey ideas. Unfortunately, marketing can be used as a weapon by the unscrupulous, to distort facts and spin the truth. When ideology gets in the way, you can have a clash between facts and feelings that creates a conflict worthy of the Hatfields and the McCoys. 

Take for example, the recent discussions over the rights of gun owners versus those who style themselves as “gun control” advocates. Read the rest of this entry »

It takes a lot of discipline to be a good marketer. A lot of people think that good marketing just happens - sort of a “big bang” of ideas, without any backstory as to where all that creative matter came from. Count me as one who believes in “intelligent design” as applied to marketing. (For the record, I’m an “intelligent design” adherent when it comes to creation, too. One of my favorite creation jokes is where a bunch of scientists go to God and say, “We can create life - we don’t need you.” God says, “Okay…let’s see.” The scientists reply, “FIrst, we take this dirt…” God interrupts, and says, “Not so fast…use your own dirt.”)

Anyway, a lot of the people I talk with/consult for/deal with have a very, shall we say “organic” view of marketing. Sort of like that cartoon by S. Harris:

Read the rest of this entry »