Cameron Olthuis

To Seth Godin’s question.

Is marketing the art of tricking people into buying stuff they don’t need?

Or is it about spreading ideas that people fall in love with?

Since he doesn’t allow comments on his blog I’ll answer here.

It depends on a number of variables. The product, the marketer, the consumer, the market, the demand, and so on and so forth. To be honest it’s really too broad of a question for one right or wrong answer.

I think it really boils down to the marketer and the product or brand he’s marketing. Is he passionate about said product? Does he believe in the product? Would he actually use or purchase the product for himself? Does this product solve a problem?

All these questions would need to be answered before one could give a complete answer to the question.

There’s some products that no one would buy if they weren’t tricked into it first. I can’t help but think of MLM products for this example. These are the same products that just happen to be the stuff no one would ever fall in love with, which is obviously why the marketer has to resort to tricks.

I truely believe a really good marketer can do both, and do both very successfully. But I think a marketer who’s passionate about marketing would much rather take a job spreading ideas that people fall in love with. It’s easier, more fun, and a lot more gratifying.

Marketing for long term success that creates a powerful products/brands means spreading ideas that people fall in love with. I don’t think you can have a lasting product/brand if you can’t get people to fall in love first. But not all products are supposed to be around for long.

So Seth, the answer is both.

Marketing, Branding