So, how does marketing even get started?

Well, it’s an absolute fallacy that you have to be ‘economical with the truth’ in marketing.

We do a great deal of work around medical device marketing, and in this field, it’s an absolute ‘must-do’ to always be truthful.

Of course, that’s because any departure from the truth, including unproven claims, can ultimately lead to patient harm.

Before we get into the weeds of the subject, let’s look at this week’s fun-fact parallel – disclosure on a house sale.

In England (and many other jurisdictions around the world) failing to disclose a known fault when selling your house can lead to significant legal consequences, including being sued by the buyer for misrepresentation, potential compensation claims for repairs, or even the sale being unwound.

You are legally required to be transparent in the English TA6 Property Information Form by declaring significant defects like structural problems, damp, or drainage issues, and you can be held liable if you provide false information or omit crucial details, potentially even for years after the sale.

You are obliged to disclose structural problems; dampness; drainage issues; significant problems with wiring or plumbing; neighbour disputes; boundary disputes; infestation (plant, animal or insect); any alterations made to the property.

Now be truthful with yourself… did you really know about all those categories of disclosure… including moths in the carpets? Not sure I did!

OK – back to our world of marketing. We can see that medical devices need the truth in marketing to avoid patient harm. And property sales need the truth to avoid potentially huge financial loss. They make total sense.

But surely this is a principle we should always follow.

What about potentially carcinogenic substances in foods?

What will happen to vaping when the epidemiology is eventually available (I think that’s a disaster waiting to happen).

And when it comes to technology – if the product does not deliver on its marketing promises, then the brand will suffer.

Time has told that snake oil sales are eventually (sometimes pretty soon) revealed for the fraud that they really are. And once tarred with that fraud, the commercial and brand consequences are massive. You can’t advertise yourself out of that kind of hole.

We all know the huge pressures that are exerted to deliver quarterly and annual sales results.

But think of the dotcom crash. Think of the PPI scandal. The current car finance hidden commissions furore. Diesel emissions falsification. Lead-contaminated apple sauce. Ethylene glycol in beer and wine. Horsemeat masquerading as beef. Greenwashing over ‘sustainable’ financial products. The list goes on. And on.

My point is that you don’t have to depart from the truth to market effectively. You don’t even have to miss out ‘nothing but the truth’.

It’s relatively simple to emphasize the positive aspects of your product or service.

If there is truly no competitive differentiator, then that’s either a problem to send back to product development (and tell them to blooming well try harder) or it requires imagination about how to wrap added-value around the core product to make it more attractive (service, customer communities, usage bonuses/discounts, etc).

At all events, there are principles to stick to:

• Always tell the truth
• Don’t selectively miss out things that fundamentally undermine what you are saying (that’s a form of lying)
• Otherwise, let your marketing pen sparkle!

I hope you find these bulletins entertaining. If you want to talk to me about business, do get in touch!