The Myth of Numbers

Numbers never lie right?  That may or may not be true.  To the marketing professional it doesn't matter.  Your goal is to make the numbers support your messages.

For example, consider the following.

4 out of 5 doctors think drug X is great.

If you market drug X you'd say...   80% of doctors think drug X is great.

If you market drug Y you'd say... 20% of doctors think drug X is useless.

Same numbers, two compelling statements, yet two very different messages.

The lesson here is not to worry about numbers.  You can spin a story that supports your goals regardless of the actual "numbers"