Truth, trust, and April Fools? Reporter Nicole Lyn Pesce asked my POV on #AprilFoolsDay #Marketing for her excellent MarketWatch roundup: “April Fools’ Day marketing pranks happen as brands try to be agile, current and respond to real-life narratives in real-time. It backfires when the focus is all on the need for short-term attention, ignoring the risk of losing long-term trust. Buyers don’t do business with companies/brands they do not trust (whether buying shoes or enterprise-grade software). They can easily switch to a competitor if that trust is threatened. Today, 42% of buyers don’t know which companies to trust. Brands need to tread carefully on April Fools’ Day; it’s not enough for us to earn attention via stunts. That short-term lift in eyeballs may backfire if it means buyers lose trust in our brand.” Link to article is in the comments (appease the algorithm gods!) …see more