SIVA SIVANI INSTITUTE

OF MANAGEMENT

BOOK REVIEW

ON

ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS

THE POWER OF TELLING AUTHENTIC STORIES IN

A LOW-TRUST WORLD

SETH GODIN

S U B M I T T E D B Y : ABHIJIT DEY
ROLL NO: 19002
 About the Author

S
eth godin (born July 10, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, author and
public speaker. Godin graduated from Tufts University in 1989 with a degree
in computer science and philosophy. Godin earned his MBA in marketing from
Stanford Business School. From 1983 to 1986, he worked as a brand manager
at Spinnaker Software.

 He is Author of Seven best sellers around the world.

 He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, fortune, Fast Company
and Business Week.

 Author of Purple Cow, the bestseller in the decade.

About the Book

All Marketers Are Liars uses examples from areas such as organic products, the Good
Year Blimp, and Cold Stone to illustrate the power of marketing an authentic story. From
the book jacket:

"All marketers tell stories. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine
tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne
is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, even if it is virtually the same car. We
believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better--and look cooler--than $20 no
names. . . and believing it makes it true."

Following his own lead, Godin's title for the book is a lie. He wrote in the introduction:

"I wasn't being completely truthful with you when I named this book. Marketers aren't
liars. They are just storytellers... I was trying to go to the edges. No one would hate a
book called All Marketers Are Storytellers. No one would disagree with it. No one would
challenge me on it. No one would talk about it."
 CONTENTS

The Book is organized into 5 quick steps chapters

Stories : A new way of doing BUSINESS.

Step 1: Their Worldview And Frames Got There Before You Did.
Step 2: People Notice Only The New And Then Make A Guess.
Step 3: First Impressions Start The Story.
Step 4: Great Marketers Tell Stories We Believe.
Step 5: Marketers With Authenticity Thrive.

Stories: A new way of doing BUSINESS

Truly great stories succeed because they are able to capture the imagination of large or
important audiences.

A great story is true. Not true because it’s factual, but true because it’s consistent and
authentic.

Great stories make a promise. They promise fun or money, safety or a shortcut.

Great stories are trusted. No one trusts anyone. Consumers don’t trust the beautiful
women ordering vodka at the corner bar (they’re getting paid by the liquor company).
Consumers don’t trust the spokesperson on commercials.

Great stories are subtle. The less a marketer spells out, the more powerful to story
becomes.

Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we give them
credit for. Great stories don’t always need eight-page color brouchers or a face-to-face
meeting.

Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. If you need to water down your story to
appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one.

Great stories don’t contradict themselves. Consumers are clever and they’ll see through
your deceit at once. And most of all, great stories agree with our worldview. The best
stories don’t teach people anything new.
 MARKETERS AREN’T REALLY LIARS

Seth Godin wasn’t being completely truthful with you when he named this book.
Marketers aren’t liars. They are just storytellers. It’s the CONSUMERS who are liars. As
consumers, we lie to ourselves every day. We lie to ourselves about what we wear,
where we live, how we vote and what we do at work. Successful marketers are just the
providers of stories that consumers choose to believe.

STEP 1: THEIR WORLDVIEW AND FRAMES GOT THERE BEFORE YOU DID

A consumer’s worldview affects the way he notices things and understands them. If a
story is framed in terms of that worldview, he’s more likely to believe it.

WORLDVIEW: IT REFERS TO THE RULES, VALUES, BELIEFS AND BIASES THAT AN

INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER BRINGS TO A SITUATION.

FRAMES: WORDS, IMAGES AND INTERACTIONS THAT REINFORCE A BIAS SOMEONE IS

ALREADY FEELING.

STEP 2: PEOPLE ONLY NOTICE THE NEW AND THEN MAKE A GUESS

Consumers notice something only when it changes. People only notice stuffs that are
new and different. And the moment they notice something new, they start making
guesses about what to expect next.

People look for a difference.

People look for causation.
People use their PREDICTION MACHINE.
People rely on Cognitive Dissonance .People only notices something new and start
making guess what to expect next.
 STEP 3: FIRST IMPRESSIONS START THE STORY

A first impression causes the consumer to make a very quick, permanent judgment
about what he was just exposed to.

Humans are able to make extremely sophisticated judgments in a fraction of a second.

And once they’ve drawn that conclusion, they resist changing it.

STEP 4: GREAT MARKETERS TELL STORIES WE BELIEVE

The marketer tells a story about what the consumer notices. The story changes the way
the consumer experiences the product or services and he tells himself a lie..

Consumers make a prediction about what will happen next. Consumers rationalize
anything that doesn’t match that prediction.

Stories let us lie to ourselves. And those lies satisfy our desires. It’s the story, not the
good or the service you actually sell, that pleases the consumer.

STEP 5: MARKETERS WITH AUTHENTICITY THRIVE

The authenticity of the story determines whether it will survive scrutiny long enough for
the consumer to tell the story to other people.

Sometimes marketing is so powerful it can actually change the worldview of someone

who experiences it, but no marketing succeeds if it can’t find an audience that already
wants to believe the story being told.

You don’t get to make up the story. The story happens with or without you.

Before I tell someone a story, I tell that story to myself.

Commit your story, live your story and remain authentic.

 CONCLUSION

DON’T JUST TELL ME THE FACTS,

TELL ME A STORY INSTEAD.

BE REMARKABLE!

BE CONSISTENT!

BE AUTHENTIC!

TELL YOUR STORY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE INCLINED TO BELIEVE IT.

MARKETING IS POWERFUL. USE IT WISELY.

LIVE THE LIE.