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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Conceal vs reveal


Seth Godin has an interesting post about revealing stuff that might appear to be 'negative' in marketing materials.

Today, I asked our printers how many trees are cut each month to produce our papers. The printers are digging out the information -- their research process suggests that I am either the only (or one of a very f ew) clients who have ever bothered to ask the question. I hope to have the answer within a day or two -- and then, if all goes well, will share another answer with you

2 comments:

Sonny Lykos said...

"It takes the romance and pleasure out of buying the fish, because you realize that there's a cost to it. The meat guy across the way doesn't have pictures of cows being slaughtered, does he?

But after a while, because the information is out there, because smart fish buyers already know some fish is endangered, the signs give you power. They allow you to make smart choices. They send a message to the customer about the honesty and intent of the seller. They build trust."

Sometimes I wonder if Seth just like to talk. Perhaps he should be on the Planet Earth channel, or Discovery Channel.

Maybe I should tell my landscaper to stop cutting my grass because with each cutting he is at worse, destroying micro ecosystems, and at best, severely impacting them negatively.

Perhaps next Seth can also write about how shorn sheep lose their ability to protect itself from insects. That way I can become a "smarter" consumer in my fabric selections.

Construction Marketing Ideas said...

Sonny, good observations. I don't think it is our business to 'slam' our own business interests but there are interesting arguments in favor of proactive openness in many circumstances (better to control the potentially negative agenda if someone else gets ahold of the issue/problem).