Muhammad Ali, The Greatest Marketer Ever?

So I'm having a rather intense conversation at dinner with a journalist. She was detailing the tenets of classical journalism and how important it is to the fabric of America. The conversation then took an interesting turn.

We spoke about how journalists and the companies they work for have to mix the news with tabloid marketing. I maintain true journalists report facts, while marketers create facts...this is when she almost choked on her pepper steak.

If you peel back the scales of common thought, one finds some odd observations. For example, have you ever wondered how every toothpaste can be the #1 Dentist Recommended brand? By definition, there can only be one, yet every company uses the line. This is classical fact creation. These tactics are not called lying in our society because everyone does it.

Muhammad Ali used to travel the world calling himself "The Greatest of All Time." He said this prior to establishing a record that could back up his claim. Was this just good marketing?

How about this, you have an Elance profile that states you are the number #1 Elancer? Is this also marketing or old-fashioned lying? Why are we selectively honest?

Back to the dinner, so she goes on to state her case about the rigid morality of her organization and the high standards of reporting. Well, maybe so, but the evening news is looking more and more like entertainment tonight.

Think about how you market yourself on Elance. Give yourself the same marketing room you give every product on the grocery store shelves. If you don't believe you're the greatest, who will?

Before she left, my friend said "We Report You Decide" to which I asked, "But who decides what you report?"

J. Smith Adams
Elance Money secrets