Real is rare: let's reclaim authenticity
from The Brandsmith Hosted by Solveig Petch
Authenticity. It’s unfortunately become a bit of a buzzword in the branding world, and that is a pet peeve of mine! Because so many companies have been misusing authenticity as a marketing gimmick to appeal to people’s yearning for something genuine, trustworthy, sincere products and experiences, “authentic” no longer carries the same meaning as it used to. So now, when a brand claims to be authentic, instead of leading to increased levels of trust — it often leads to scepticism and cynicism. That’s because we, as consumers, increasingly recognise that many brands use authenticity as a fancy facade to hide their true intentions. And those intentions are often focused on profit, profit and more profit, at any cost. As a result, these cynical brands have ruined authenticity for the rest of us, and it’s pissing me off big time! Can we reverse this damage? I think we can, but it’s going to take some work. As human-centred brands, we need to take a different approach, one that prioritises authenticity in every aspect of our businesses — without shouting about it as if it’s a big deal. I mean, it kinda is a big deal, but really it should just be the norm. We shouldn’t have to question someone’s authenticity, but here we are. Tune in to hear my take on this! TL;DR — episode links: Shownotes Strategic brand design Brand Boost Brand it! strategy hours Book a free call Free five day micro course: Brand values, not bland values!
Embed this episode
No transcript yet.