The Persuaders

Apple’s ‘Sales Pitch‘ ad pokes fun at the unsubtle tactics often used to sell non-Apple machines. In a recent Advertising Age article, Jonah Bloom describes the narrowing gap between the hitherto isolated fiefdoms of Marketing and PR, pointing to the cultural differences between the two disciplines (marketing as aggressively sales-focussed and PR as defensively brand-protective).

But what is interesting in his analysis is his description of the terms ‘trust’ and ‘transparency’ as it relates to the interaction with the ‘customer collective’.

Marketing hyperbole, which works well for an atomised marketplace, is less effective in an interconnected customer base, where massive intercommunication can expose a company’s exaggerations through the post of a single (influential) blogger.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who’s no stranger to high volume messages, is clearly of the old school hyperbole brigade:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6YgZc5th6g]

Which makes you wonder whether Bill Gates sulkiness at being compared to the John Hodgman character in Apple’s ads has its roots closer to home.