Is profanity the new MLM authenticity?

Looking at the likes of Perry Belcher and Frank Kern, one can see a trend of sorts in marketing in that, while the viewer is warned in advance, foul language seems to be being used as a form of authenticity. It’s use seems to signify the following:

1. That the presenter is completely free from the social constraints that inhibit people with regular jobs. This is a direct display of the financial freedom that the marketer is promising.
2. The marketer is using the same kind of language that the rest of use use, he is one of us. This fits in with the, ANYONE CAN DO IT! headline of most of these pitches.
3. There is a degree of ’street creds’ to this. The marketer has been to the same places of disappointment and deals gone wrong that most of his marks have run into.

In addition to this, these marketers are not dressed up in the suit and tie of their infomercial forbears. The game used to be about how rich, smart and surrounded by women the guru was. Now the trend is more towards freedom and an element of doing something for society. In one of Frank Kern’s videos, he asks audience members what they visualize as a successful outcome. No one mentioned the ferrari of gold chains. They did mention saving forests, educating underprivileged and clearing debt to that family members would not be facing this burden. The smarter MLM, miracle video marketer has responded to this with more casual dress contemporary language and a ‘I’m one of you’ attitude. Frank Kern even goes so far as to not even wear shoes during his presentations. He also makes point to mention that most of his time is spent surfing and laying about. The message is, it’s not the work that makes the difference, it’s his product.

In the case of Mr. Kern he seems to be selling an understanding of human behavior and methods to control it. In a sense it is an outdated product. In an era of Social media, attempts at behavior manipulation are resented. Mr. Belcher has gotten more in tune with the times by emphasizing the social aspect of social media, but his affiliation with Mr. Kern somewhat devalues this claimed expertise. He is contradicting his own advice when he attempts to generate income from the sales of ‘Marketing Secrets’ type videos.

It’s amazing that someone so versed in the ways of social media could not figure out how quickly and easily his hypocrisies could be identified.

Conclusion

Like Barnum says, there’s a sucker born every minute. According to Alexa, about 10,000 potential suckers sign in to Twitter every day. People selling their own charisma will always be with us, what is interesting to see is how their methods have subtly evolved. Props where they are due. I’ve featured some very old-school scammers on this blog who are using stock Amway saturation bombing tactics. Kern and Belcher have evolved their methods to stay just ahead of that learning curve. What is interesting about this kind of business is that it’s evolution is not simply a matter of arithmetic or geometry. The changes are fundamental in nature. According to ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ by Thomas Khun, real authentic changes are not just some linear development, they are different in ways that are deeply structural, thus causing a seismic shift across layers of related disciplines. These MLM people obviously don’t belong in such a conversation , but what can be said for them is that there is a degree of change there that is not easily predicted. Because of this, take care before declaring your self immune to their influence.

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