The new secret weapon in marketing: Honesty.

The classic Madison Avenue stereotype of the 50’s and 60’s still colours our perception of marketing today. Advertising is based on misrepresentation, false claims and vagueness with a pinch of entertainment thrown in to keep our attention.

But both the consumer and the market have changed. The consumer is more sophisticated, demanding and discerning while the days of the big advertising agency and the 30-second spot are numbered.

Building a brand today is done across so many channels on such a fragmented landscape that the emphasis is shifting from the medium to the message. What you say and how you say it are becoming more important than the mass media canned pitch of yesterday.

Today, the heart of branding is the story.

None of this is news.

What is news is that one of the most powerful tools for building a story is honesty. In addition the obvious fact that bullshit no longer sells as well as it once did, there are even more compelling reasons that make honesty a powerful tool:

Honesty fosters creativity because:

• you don’t waste energy keeping track of your lies
• you don’t have to self-censor to stay within legal or regulatory boundaries
• sincerity is at the core of inspiration and inspiration feeds creativity

Honesty allows you to focus on what’s important in the message. Focus is the key to all good communication.

Honesty creates a feeling of purpose and commitment in the party sending the message.

Honesty increases the engagement in the receiver of the message.

Less obvious, honesty opens the door for humour. It sounds a bit odd, but think about: have you every had a good laugh at an ad or a commercial when there wasn’t a strong element of truth in it?

So, does honesty mean you can no longer say that the bag is half full, when you know it’s half empty?

Yes, but a half empty bag is a better bag. After all, who wants a bag full of hot air?