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May 16, 2005
Lies, Damn Lies and Branding
Posted by John Winsor
I was disheartened today when reading Jeff Leeds' article about Russell Simmons in the New York Times today. In a civil deposition in July, Simmons is quoted as saying:
"You give out false statements to mislead the public so they will then increase in their mind the value of your company."
In a February 2003 appearance on CNBC Simmons stated that Phat Farm was "doing $350 million" in sales when, in reality the company had revenues in 2002 of $14.3 million. Talk about hype!
He also told Newsweek that Phat Farm's sales at $340 million "accurately reflected my optimism or my brand position statement, a good brand positioning statement. In other words, did I say it? I was hoping it would sound good."
I agree with Seth Godin's premise of his new book, All Marketers are Liars, that storytelling is important. But, it seems that some stories, like Simmons' are so outlandish as to damage the power of storytelling itself and call into question all marketing.
And people wonder why customers have a lack of trust?
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1. Ben McConnell on May 17, 2005 11:51 PM writes...
I used to like Russell and what he stood for, which was graduating from a life of drug selling to successful (and reformed) entrepreneur.
But outright deception in the name of marketing? Guess I'd thought wrong.
Permalink to Comment2. Dustin on May 18, 2005 02:09 PM writes...
The moral: If you choose to tell a story, make sure it's not a fish story or your market may be the "one that got away."
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