As brands strive for a more authentic presence online, we ask what ‘authenticity’ means in marketing.
If social media has taught brands, marketers and PR teams one thing, it’s that all information will eventually get out, and once it does it’ll take on a life of its own. From poorly judged customer service Tweets to full-blown corporate scandals, transparency has transformed the relationship between brands and consumers. And underpinning the new glass house is authenticity.
“Acting and communicating authentically are no longer choices for brands,” says Jake Dubbins, Manging Director at brand entertainment agency Media Bounty. “Digital and social have changed the way they communicate forever. If a brand’s trying to paint itself as socially responsible, ethical and sustainable it’ll be found out if it’s not. The beauty of this new world is the outcome of transparency. Will consumers buy the brands who do not give a shit? Will people want to work for them? Will agencies want to collaborate with them? I will be very surprised if big oil, big tobacco and big arms are able to attract and retain the best talent in the future.”
Earn Your Reputation
So what exactly are we talking about when we talk about authentic marketing? For anyone outside the industry the notion may sound suspiciously oxymoronic. But as Peter Shea, a digital business expert who’s worked at Amazon, Sony and Tesco, points out, “Authenticity in digital marketing is not a departure from authenticity in any other environment. You can’t expect success by marketing a façade. Being true to your brand and experience is key. It’s what establishes trust and reflects authenticity. Challenge each piece of your digital marketing puzzle and ask, ‘If my customer only saw this before buying from me, would it be an honest reflection of my business and product?’ If you can answer ‘yes’ every time, it’s authentic.”
In their book Authenticity in Culture, Self and Society, Phillip Vannini and J. Patrick Williams point to an abiding notion in contemporary culture. “The authentic stands against replicas, pretence and posing… Authenticity is to be understood as an inherent quality of some object, person or process. Because it is inherent, it is neither negotiable nor achievable. Authenticity cannot be stripped away, nor can it be appropriated.”
In other words, authenticity ain’t for sale, however much a brand may want to buy it.
“Do not dare talk about authenticity unless you have your house in order,” says Jake Dubbins. “If you’re a brand with a credible story from when you began in the 1800s, you have permission to shout about it. If your business is a positive influence on the planet then consumers will welcome your message and are more likely to buy your product. But if you make up stories about your heritage, exploit workers, make bland corporate statements about the environment, use unsustainable palm oil, invest in arms or take any other actions characterised as being a dickhead then you should expect and deserve a social take-down one day soon.”
Who Buys Your Story?
Stepping away from the ethical issues, the move towards a more authentic tone in marketing is reflected in a broader cultural preference, especially among younger consumers, for keeping it real. Pop-up shops, artisan produce, boutique festivals and hip indie businesses all encourage us to think of ourselves as sophisticated cultural consumers resistant to mass marketing. But just how meaningful is authenticity in this context, and are brands right to think that it’s the key to engaging young consumers?
“There’s plenty of evidence currently being bandied about that younger audiences – millennials, Generation-Z or whatever we want to call them this week – value authenticity highly, and warm to brands deemed ‘authentic,’” says Michael Reeves, Business Development Director at entertainment and content marketing agency Red Bee. “But I’m puzzled as to why any brand’s shift towards authenticity is often justified primarily by a desire to engage these younger audiences. It’s like authenticity is a new marketing fad designed just to woo the social generation. Surely anyone in any demographic group stands to benefit from businesses embracing authenticity? Don’t we all want a bit less marketing bullshit in the world? A more honest approach from brands has such obvious benefits for the audience and the communicating organisation.”
That’s reflected in the results of a 2014 study by Cohn & Wolfe entitled The Age of Authenticity. “To put it bluntly,” write the report’s authors, “Consumers just aren’t ‘buying’ brand stories in the same, uncomplicated way they did in years past. They demand more information and clarity, they yearn for a more honest and open relationship with brands, and – above all – they hate being lied to.”
Cohn & Wolfe’s study cites a number of ‘authenticity anchors’. These include communicating honestly, acting with integrity and having a purpose. Each of these anchors, notes the report, has a clear business benefit, from product utility and customer service to innovation and popular appeal.
You Are What You Do
So while in the past brands may have felt that authenticity was something they could conjure up with some cool imagery and a snappy bit of copywriting, not it’s a more complex, nuanced issue.
“For many businesses the notion of authenticity still seems to struggle to break out of the marketing department,” says Michael Reeves. “Which is a problem because authenticity is about deeds more than tone. It’s made real through customer experience, not a marketing idea or digital campaign. It doesn’t matter how jauntily charming and transparent your web or packaging copy is, or how movingly you bring to life your brand’s altruistic purpose in content and advertising. It’s all undone by one aggressive payment demand letter or a surly call centre operative. That’s because those bad experiences for the audience look like the truth that a brand is trying to hide, and thus they reframe the entire marketing effort as deliberately misleading and inauthentic.
“Establishing authenticity is not a brand marketing challenge. It’s a challenge for every discipline in every tiny little corner of an organisation, and the zero-tolerance drive for transparency must come from the very top.”
A dramatic reminder that it’s by their deeds that brands shall be known came in September this year when Volkswagen was hit by the emissions scandal. Worse, VW’s marketing of diesel cars in the US emphasised their models’ low emissions. The very public lesson: brands are defined by what they do. Not what they say they do.
“My hope is that the knowledge we all now have at our fingertips combined with a definite shift towards conscious consumerism will force brands to act positively for society and the planet,” says Jake Dubbins. “Those that do not will die off and those that do will succeed. And that’s good for all of us.”
This feature appears in Figaro Digital Issue 26: November 2015. Register to receive Figaro Digital’s quarterly magazine here.