Your brand is not someone’s passion

There’s a lot of bullshit talk in digital marketing and engagement — even in the social good space.

Ad man Bob Hoffman defines and decodes bullshit at Advertising Week Europe:

“Bullshit is different from lying. Lyings is willful. When you lie, you know what the truth is but you intentionally misrepresent it. In a way, bullshit is more insidious because people who bullshit often don’t know what the truth is and don’t care. They are out to make a point. They are out to sell you an idea. And they really don’t care whether what they are saying is true or not.”

He goes on to talk about some of the bullshit we’ve been telling ourselves — and believing.

My favorite from his list?

People are in love with brands. They want to have brand experiences and engage with brands. To this he says, “Dude, get a girlfriend.”

From my perspective, people have passions — kids, birds, dogs, xeriscaping, wine tasting, hiking, hunting, you name it.

To successfully engage people, our causes need to tap into these passions. When we tell ourselves  that our brand/cause is someone’s passion, that’s when we’re bullshitting.

And bullshitting — as Bob says — is dangerous.