Is Authenticity Enough?

Brand authenticity - A flag all companies try to fly high to varying levels of success. What are the drivers of perceived brand authenticity? How can it be achieved? How can service and luxury brands capitalize on authenticity to elevate the experience? I had the opportunity to have a conversation with EHL's Assistant Professor of Marketing Florent Girardin and Ipsos' Chief Commercial Officer Asia-Pacific Arnaud Frade, and the resulting discussion dived deep into the topic, digging both into research and consumer insight!

The conversation below consists of excerpts from the webinar “Is Authenticity Enough” organized by EHL on 17th June 2020.

Consumers rely on brands to express themselves, self-enhance, or self-verify. At the same time, consumers are confronted with increasing commercialization, an overflow of the fake, and an omnipresence of meaningless market offers. To overcome this meaninglessness, consumers look for brands that are relevant, original, and genuine: they increasingly search for authenticity in brands.

- Quote from EHL Associate Professor Florent Girardin’s co-authored article "Brand Authenticity: An integrative framework and measurement scale", published online in December 2014.

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Q: Florent, what motivated the topic of your thesis? What is brand authenticity?

F: The question of how important perceived brand authenticity is in purchase decisions motivated my research on this topic.

When we talk about brand authenticity, the first thing to do is to have a clear definition of it because there are so many different definitions out there; we needed to have a clear and integrated framework to encompass all current definitions. And to do that, we decided to take a consumer perspective because, in the end, this is what matters.

We interviewed a lot of different consumers and we realized that consumers were relying on three different perspectives in forming their brand authenticity perception:

• The first is the Objective perspective and this relates to evidence-based authenticity; facts that can prove that the brand is authentic. It could be the localization of production, the quality of the material you used etc., things that are really evidence-based.
• The second one is more subjective. It's called Constructive brand authenticity, and this comes more from impressions. Does the brand have an authentic look? Brands that are not objectively authentic can still be constructively authentic if they have the authentic look, if they use codes of authenticity in their communication through storytelling or talk about their values etc.
• And the third is Existential brand authenticity which comes more from the relationship with individual consumers. In this situation, authenticity is perceived when consumers can reveal their own identity when consuming a particular brand, and if the brand can help consumers to find their true selves.

Q: Arnaud, what are your thoughts on these three ways that consumers perceive brand authenticity?

A: Consumers don't necessarily perceive authenticity in quite a structured and organized way; it's a lot more organic and it means that it's a lot more open to trickery, as much as true authenticity. I think what we can say is that consumers today are becoming increasingly sophisticated. This is a huge shift; just a few years ago, it was certainly possible to launch brands in all sorts of different ways and to try to be authentic. Today, consumers are far more aware, far more educated, and extremely knowledgeable in their ability to spot and be conscious of these three dimensions very clearly activated by different brands.

Q: What are the dimensions of perceived brand authenticity?

F: We interviewed more than 2000 consumers over seven different studies, and we came up with four dimensions that constitute brand authenticity as a multi-dimensional construct.

• The first is Continuity and this relates to how a brand is true to itself. Is it aware of its roots? Is it still true to its roots today? Louis Vuitton is an example of a brand that has evolved through time, has transcended trends but still stayed true to its roots. You can see, for example, that the product design has evolved a lot, but you can still find the same codes from the first original products. Heritage is important for this dimension, so well-established brands are higher in this dimension than new ones.
• The second dimension is Credibility. Credibility is about the honesty of the brand, its ability to walk its talk, to deliver on its promise, to be reliable. Victorinox came out in our research as a brand that is always reliable. It's there when you need it. It will not break. It's a brand that delivers its promise in terms of quality and reliability.
• The third dimension Integrity is related to Credibility but is focused on the morality of the brand, the honesty in intentions. Is the brand driven by a purpose that is more than just making profits? Is the brand honest in its intentions and its values? Patagonia, since its foundation by Yvon Chouinard, has always respected the founding values of the brand. You can feel that it's not just a communications strategy to make a profit but it's really an intrinsic motivation of the brand.
• The fourth, Symbolism, is perhaps the most important today because this relates not so much to the brand but to the relationship of the brand with its customers. Again, this relates back to Existential authenticity because Symbolism is the ability of a brand to help consumers discover their own identity.

Overall, these are the four dimensions that constitute brand authenticity, so the higher you are on all these dimensions, the more authentic you are perceived as a brand.

Q: Do brands have the same strategy across these four dimensions in different parts of the world?

A: Brands layer their presence and branding across regions in very different ways. Brands have segmented not only their target consumers but also the experiences they can deliver. You might go to a store and that's your experience but then there are private rooms or there are stores in stores.

Access to products is another way you create a very distinctive experience. You might have a very basic version of a product or you may have items that are limited edition, in materials that are very hard to come by. I completely agree with Florent; he is spot-on in terms of the brands that are really building on something genuine because that's what matters. They are of course applying marketing today but they're not building on the marketing model; they are building on true foundations of an authentic legacy or an authentic message.

But in Asia, as everywhere else, the smartest brands must evolve really, really fast, even if they do have a degree of that huge credibility in the market. For example, a brand like Louis Vuitton is constantly reinventing itself. It has entered the e-sport arena with the League of Legends. That's a huge reinvention, that's a massive leap. It has also entered the NBA (National Basketball Association) - That's another massive leap and it's a totally different type of consumer, creating huge opportunities to extend the brand.

These brands are still where they are today because they have reinvented themselves without losing sight of that initial reason of being, their raison d'être.

This is linked to the authenticity of the brand, the purpose of the brand.

Q: There seems to be a certain tension between the need to constantly reinvent oneself because of fast-changing consumer behavior and macro-environments, and the initial raison d'être of the brand. How is this balance achieved?

F: You're completely right. There really is a challenge for brands because they need to be simultaneously timeless, because this is a dimension of authenticity, and to stay relevant, so they need to evolve and innovate. This is a real challenge. I like the example Arnaud gave about Louis Vuitton because to me, it's one of the brands that has really identified the core of its brand identity, the brand DNA, the things that should never change. Whatever the brand does and whichever aspects of the brand that evolve, it needs to be aligned with this core of the brand identity. They can do new things, they can innovate, they can use new technologies, but the core of the brand should always be there.

A: I think it’s tension if it goes too far in one way versus the other. There are brands that have gone way too far in one space, trying to innovate for innovation's sake, and in doing so, they've lost themselves. There's no real coming back from that, especially in an environment where consumers have increasingly a lot more choices.

Q: Is brand loyalty dead?

A: It's true that brand loyalty has declined over time because there are a lot more choices and options. However, some brands are still managing to drive loyalty precisely because they're anchored into these four dimensions of authenticity.

Loyalty to bad brands, that's gone.

It's a little bit like when you hear about retail being dead. It's the same, right? Not all retail is dead. In fact, some retailers are doing very well. But bad retail is definitely gone and it's going to be the same across any other sector, including hospitality.

Brands, regardless of the field, have become irrelevant because they've stretched too far or because they've been proven to not be aligned with their messages. We see that a lot at the moment, and these brands are going to be in big trouble because consumers are no longer interested to tolerate the dissonance between a brand trying to be something and acting in a different way. This lack of congruence is at the core of what is going to destroy brands at an accelerated pace as we exit this first phase of COVID-19 and as we go into the new normal.

Q: Arnaud, do consumers really purchase solely based on brand authenticity?

A: 

The question is, "Do the new consumers today care very much about authenticity for the sake of it?" The answer is no.

That alone doesn't get you a new purchase, it just doesn't; it contributes to it, and in some cases, it's vital to it. When you think about a brand like Patagonia, there are two reasons why you buy Patagonia. One, because they make outstanding products. You might know nothing about the company but when you go to a retailer and pick up one of their fleeces or their jackets, it's a super top-quality product at a fair price. And if it gets damaged, they'll repair it. If you don't know anything about their recycling programs or anything about the philosophy of their founder Yvon Chouinard, it doesn't matter because you bought a really good product. The integrity here is in terms of the integrity of the products. The second reason is the second type of consumer, people that really buy the philosophy and they really want to wear that philosophy literally on their shoulders and that's why they buy it and so, I think that matters a lot.

So in some aspects, perceived brand authenticity does not matter as much in driving sales. Even if you have a great legacy, if you're no longer relevant, you're just no longer relevant. That's where innovation kicks in. That's where the Louis Vuitton example of their partnership with the League of Legends comes in. They're constantly reinventing themselves and constantly shifting without losing grip of the anchor of authenticity.

F: Building on what Arnaud said, a consumer who is buying a brand because he adheres to the philosophy of the brand is much more loyal than a customer who is buying it because of product quality. Because if another product comes with better quality, then this consumer will switch to the new brand. If you really believe in the values and the intentions of the brand and you adhere to them and then use it also to express to others your own identity then you are much more loyal and this is really powerful in terms of brand equity.

A: The big shift is no longer, in my opinion, towards just authenticity. It's towards brands that are human, brands that are not perfect because we're not perfect. We are flawed.

Brands are starting to take much more of a human persona, meaning they do get it wrong and they recognize that they get it wrong. But when they get it wrong, for example, they don't issue a press release with lots of marketing lingo because everybody can see through this now in an instant. So what they do is when they get it wrong, they apologize, they fix it and they do that with integrity and with honesty.

When they launch a new product, they're going to be thinking about all the consequences of that product. And more and more, this is the way brands are going to be successful: Not just talking about authenticity but about the human nature of their endeavor, the human nature of the values they have and the role they play in communities. I can absolutely guarantee you that some of the brands that appear today to be authentic will disappear or will see a major shift in their fortunes in the next few years because it's not going to cut it if you pretend to be authentic but everything else is wrong. That's going to be something that brands will need to rethink very quickly or risk failure.

Q: With brands becoming more human, does that also mean that the human representation of the brand, the employee, will also become more central to how brands are perceived?

A: Completely. I think brands that are smart today are the brands that are going to over-invest in their employees. Because if you have a big brand and you talk about how it's all about luxury or it's all about the quality of the service, and I turn up in your store and your employees are disengaged, not knowledgeable, and just not interested, that's dissonance. Immediately you've broken the rule of authenticity. Immediately, you're out of the picture. I walk out without a purchase and I go elsewhere.

It is the same for hospitality – At the heart of it, hospitality is a genuine feeling of warmth and being welcomed. It's not about the processes and the efficiency of it. That’s a huge challenge: If you're a big chain, how can you maintain that? Well, the short answer is very simple -- through the people you’ve hired. It's very simple.

That housekeeping lady that has been doing the same job for 40 years, she's a phenomenal asset.

She's not a cost. She's a phenomenal asset because she's going to bring the first experience to the guest in the hotel. She could be fun and interactive, leading to great guest experiences. If she is grumpy and does a bad job, my impression of the hotel that is worth $100 million and represents your brand is completely corrupted. It's completely changed.

F: I completely agree with you. We also realized in our research that employee behavior is the key to communicate authenticity.

Employees not only need to be aware of the brand DNA. They need to be knowledgeable about it to be able to talk about it if customers ask, but they first need to believe in it. They need to live the brand promise and therefore be brand ambassadors. This is the best way to communicate brand authenticity to customers because those touchpoints with employees, as you rightly said it could be anyone, are what will make the difference. So employee behavior is definitely a way to increase brand authenticity. Another way is through brand anthropomorphism; the way a brand is humanized. The more a brand is perceived as a human being, the more it is authentic, so definitely, I completely agree with what you said because we also realized in research that this human aspect of a brand is becoming more and more important to convey and increase the perceived brand authenticity.

Q: How are the service and luxury brands capitalizing on authenticity to elevate the customer experience?

A: The focus on experiences is probably the single largest trend in the last five to 10 years in the luxury and luxury hospitality industries. There is a complete shift, consumers no longer will just spend money on things necessarily.

Duty-free, for example, is being challenged. There are multiple reasons we don't have time to go into detail. Consumers would rather keep their money than buy a couple of bottles of alcohol on the plane and instead, use that money for a helicopter ride or something fun at their destination. I think the rise of experiences is absolutely fundamental to travel but it's also fundamental to other aspects.

The key here is to steep what you design in the authentic reality of where you are, the culture you're in.

Consumers do not travel, especially in the high-end segment, just to be in a group of 200 people or wait queuing to see sights right? That's not what you want. You want to be just with a few people, you want to meet local culture to understand it, to educate yourself and if you're traveling with children, as I am, you want them to experience the true nature of what the local culture is.

It's also about crafting things that are relevant. Some companies are experts, some brands are experts but also, some people are experts at that and the best example of this is Shinta Mani by Bill Bensley. That is outstanding in terms of creating something that is so truly anchored in its surrounding that it's no longer authentic. It is 'it.' It is the country or it is the region that it represents and I think that transcends the need to talk the marketing speak that we do as a business and it touches on the very fundamentals of the mission that the brand has set to achieve.

Q: Florent, please do explain another element of your research, the framework of cues.

F: Indexical cues are evidence-based facts, so they relate to the Objective authenticity perspective. For example, consumers will use brand quality features to judge if a brand is authentic or not, the material used, the technology used. The reliability of the product may increase the perceived brand authenticity. Employee behavior is of course important and also the location. You know, the "Made in" aspect of the brands. These are indexical cues.

Iconic cues refer more to the style of communication of the brand. If a brand communicates a lot about its history or whether they have moral values, then it becomes more authentic in the mind of consumers. For example, we see luxury brands expressing their flagship stores as museums to become more of an experience. Luxury brands have a huge opportunity to elevate the customer experience by using their history and heritage to immerse their customers in the brand universe, and technology like virtual reality will further enhance this.

The last cue, Existential cues, are related to the customers themselves, so you need to find values that talk to customers. If customers have the same values as the brand, they will identify with the brands and use these brands to express to others who they are. In this aspect, a brand that is more human will have better chances to be used by customers to reveal and express their true selves through the consumption of these brands. These are the three types of cues that increase perceived brand authenticity.

We talked a little bit about marketing fatigue and the fact consumers today are savvier and also more skeptical towards marketing communications. Therefore, marketing skepticism decreases the impact of communications. They will double-check if the communication is honest or if it is just marketing blah-blah.

Another realization in our research was that the effect of perceived brand authenticity has another important brand equity concept: emotional brand attachment. The more a brand is perceived as being authentic, the more it will generate an emotional brand attachment with consumers.

We also realized that consumers who are themselves authentic people value the authenticity of brands more so they consider authenticity as an important purchase criterion. For people that are not authentic, it's not as important for a brand to be authentic and they rely on other purchase criteria.

A: Not every brand needs to be authentic, you know? Some consumers, they don't really care, they're not that interested. You know, they just want to buy something or to experience something that is going to be cheap or cheerful or fun or whatever. For example, if your message is, "We're a brand new hotel chain, we're all about fun and engagement and experience for singles on a budget," that's totally alright and that's very authentic in itself.

Authenticity doesn't mean that it's about history or legacy. Authenticity is just telling the truth.

And that becomes the key judgment element for consumers: "Is the brand telling the truth?" Is the brand aligned to its values? And that's good enough.

Q: How can new brands present themselves as authentic?

F: We talked a lot about history and heritage but when you build a new brand, you don't have such history and heritage to build on, so what is important is the Integrity dimension. You need to be passionate; you need to have a brand purpose that is authentic in a way that is not driven by profits but by a true passion. We see well-established authentic brands are those founded by people passionate about their businesses, like Gabrielle Chanel or Yvon Chouinard. My advice to people who are building new brands is to have a true purpose, believe in what you do and create a brand because you really have something you're passionate about. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to achieve authenticity.

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If you enjoyed the conversation above, Florent will be teaching in a week-long course in Singapore early-2021 on Luxury Brand Management. More information can be found here!