Stephen Denny - Unfiltered Marketing: 5 Rules to Win Back Trust, Credibility, and Customers in a Digitally Distracted World

Denny and Leinberger capture the profound truths and deep realities of leading and marketing in a rapidly evolving world of digital platforms. The raw transparency we are experiencing through these platforms changes the game entirely. It's no longer a manipulative battle for your mind as Trout and Ries once said. It's a battle for hearts and raw conscience.

Blake Irving, former CEO of GoDaddy

Denny and Leinberger have an unparalleled understanding of marketing and the value of raw experiencebe it person to person or on Zoom. If you read this book, you will be wiser and more successful in reaching people with your brand.

Joanna Coles, TV producer and
former chief content officer of Hearst Corporation

This is a must-read for marketers as well as political campaign professionals. We can't look at candidates or political campaigns the same way anymore. Candidates can now speak to us directly and voters want a direct connection with the people they vote for, just like consumers do when seeking a connection with the products and services they purchase. Unfiltered Marketing gives us an unvarnished look at how smart campaigns and smart marketers need to work in 2020 and beyond. This read will make you better and smarter.

Jim McLaughlin, campaign pollster and public opinion expert

A must-read guide to making sense of our topsy-turvy worlda world in the midst of cultural, social, business, and tech changes (to name but a few). Useful in marketing, sales, operations, or... (frankly)... in navigating modern life.

Ann Handley, chief content cfficer of MarketingProfs and
Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everybody Writes

I'm in the business of cultural trends and have seen a lot of presentations and data on the topic. These insights are different. They resonate on a whole new level and are immediately actionable. Once I read this, I had an urgent need to rewrite the marketing plans I was about to present to clients. In a world where the consumer owns their own marketing journey, this book is a must-read.

Anne Bologna, chief strategy officer of CrossMedia

At Zeus Jones, we help businesses imagine, then create, a new world. Since we opened our doors, we have believed that brands are defined more by what they do than what they say. Steve and Paul understand this. They have uncovered research insights that build on that premise, adding valuable nuance and texture. And with people depending on their digital relationships more than ever through a global pandemic, their conclusions have become even more poignant. This is so much more than a marketing bookit is a window into today's cultural landscape and a playbook for how to thrive in that world.

Rob White, cofounder of Zeus Jones and
former president of Fallon Worldwide

Trust has always been a valuable resource, and its value is especially high today because it is now so scarce. The barriers to entry into the ranks of the trusted are high and likely to remain so. But Unfiltered Marketing shows the way forward. It is a unique source of guidance for breaking down barriers and regaining trust. Full of insightful, actionable advice.

Ralph Whitehead, professor of journalism (retired)
at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst

This edition first published in 2020 by Career Press, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

65 Parker Street, Suite 7

Newburyport, MA 01950

www.careerpress.com

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2020 by Denny Leinberger Strategy

Foreword copyright 2020 by Brian Solis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, llc. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-63265-178-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Interior by Timm Bryson, em em design, LLC

Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro

Printed in Canada

MAR

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www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter

To Nicholas, Alexander, and Christinein hopes that the goal is always clear, no matter how difficult the path.

Stephen Denny, 12/9/19

To Susan and Harper, for their constant support, good-humored patience, and love.

Paul Leinberger, 12/9/19

Long gone are the days of brand style guides, messaging by committee, jargon, and communications and sales techniques.

Stephen Denny and Paul Leinberger are about to take you on a journey to win your trust. But before they can do that, they have to earn your attention. And before they can do that, you have to believe that by giving them your time and focus, they will help you learn something so valuable, something you don't already know or believe you need to learn, or that they offer something more compelling than you can figure out for yourself.

The only chance that they have to succeed in winning your trust is to be raw, unscripted, and real with you.

If you think about it, the same is true for the people you're trying to engage in your work. If you're reading this book, you probably have something to say or sell or teach. You're hoping to reach a desired audience and help them understand that by connecting with you, they'll be better for it. But ask yourself, why should anyone trust you? Why should anyone give you their attention or give you the gift of earning their trust?

If you take one more step down the rabbit hole, you'll see that your audience is also hoping to reach their audiences.

And so it continues...

Everyone has something to say, but very few believe they have something to hear. We live in a world where audiences have an audience of audiences. But what happens if no one is listening and everyone is talking? What happens when no one is learning and everyone is teaching? The answer is, nothing helpful or productive.

Somewhere along the way, we've all come to believe we're entitled to an audience. The democratization of information, media, and connections introduced unprecedented power. But with that power should come great responsibility. Instead, we became enamored by access, reach, and reactions. We exchanged attention for distraction. We collected responses and followers like they were coins spilling out of a slot machine. We traded openness, compassion, and empathy for the illusion of popularity and influence. We became convinced that our audience was there to support our views and beliefs, lift us up, support us in times of need, and validate how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us. All of this became not only our new normal, but our life support system.

We weren't ready.

All of this change came at considerable costs. Truth. Trust. Values. Leadership. Attention is now intentionally exploited. Facts are now debated with beliefs. Truth is now possessivewith truth lying in the eye of the beholder. Leadership is now dictated by misdirection, misinformation, and gaslighting. We live in a time, for better or for worse, when everyone knows everything. Everyone has access to the most accurate sources of information. Everyone is safeguarded by their truth. Tribes are formed around belief systems.