The problem with a lot of marketing, including search marketing, is that it often fails to tell an authentic story:

“The secret of the authenticity and transparency of this site is not built on design and copywriting…it is built on the nature of the business itself.In other words, the unique value proposition of the site is simply an expression of the truth about the company“.

That’s a really difficult thing to bolt-on. In fact, it can’t be done.

On a related note, I see Robert Scoble has left Microsoft. Whether you like his stuff or not, he is certainly an authentic voice, and Microsoft has benefited from this tell-it-like-it-is approach. His blog would have got nowhere if it had been filtered through the PR/Marketing departments.