Authenticity in Marketing
As someone that started her career in the communications field and is strongly passionate about social media, I can’t help but think of the many ways the term “marketing” is dragging us down. While the practice of marketing has been known throughout the centuries, the term “marketing” describes the commercial activity of buying and selling products or services popularized in the late nineteenth century. Since the Victorian times, the art of beautifying the products has been carefully crafted, and, by the end of the next century, it has become the norm among all economic entities, even transpiring into the non-profit sector. The tactics used by great marketers are so incredibly efficient and profitable that it’s becoming almost impossible to resist its charms.
I strongly believe in the power of authenticity. And that’s where marketing falls short. Marketing it’s all about the numbers and how to increase sales/visibility/ audiences, completing or partially ignoring the needs of your audience or clients. I have been fortunate enough to work for organisations that value authenticity and personal relations with their clients and people that follow them on social media and I have experienced first hand how much of a difference it can make to craft your message in a clear and personal way without sounding pretentious and fake.
Marketing covers a variety of areas, from social media to corporate branding and white papers, but what this usually translates to, is a carefully crafted message with the precise scope of selling something to na?ve audiences. Many corporations and organisations completely ignore the need of the people, how they desire to be spoken to and interacted with. I can only see a handful of start-ups and new businesses approaching innovative ways of connecting with audiences, but sadly, the majority are still stuck in the past golden age of marketing.
Two main critique points of marketing are its “excesses” and its “expertness.”
Excesses translates to purposefully overhyping a product or service, using inadequate warranties, deceptive or objectionable advertising, misleading packaging, questionable selling practices, and emphasis on tawdry values. These are the basis of what’s broadly referred to as the “consumer movement,” or “consumerism.” (https://hbr.org/1989/11/marketing-and-its-discontents)
Expertness on the other hand, are the special campaigns brands wish to target and see their products based on consumer’s data.
“Most people define consumer needs or wants in terms of products and their functional attributes — what a product does, how it performs, tastes, or looks. Marketers do the same, but much more. They think also of how products perform in terms of consumers’ psychological and psychosocial needs and wishes. These tend to be complex, subtle, and manipulatable. Individuals often don’t perceive any need for particular products until they have been persuasively exposed to the possibility of having them — and it is marketing experts who expertly do the persuading. When an expert takes on an amateur, especially when money is involved, the general feeling is that it’s unfair.” (https://hbr.org/1989/11/marketing-and-its-discontents)
领英推荐
How would you like to be treated by brands? What would good communications look like in an ideal world not driven by consumerism? One can definitely be authentic and engaging without leaving the impression on the audiences that they are being exploited.
Ever heard of Deadpool? One of the most wonderful marketing advertisements out there are for the Deadpool movies. Even though we are talking about a huge team with high ambitions (and pressure from the investors to make as much money as possible), with a little creativity, the production team managed to create one of the most memorable ads in the history of superhero movies with a very low budget.
“An extensive marketing campaign was carried out before the film’s release, with Reynolds working closely with the Fox marketing team to take advantage of the internet and social media due to the film’s much lower budget than other superhero films. Focus was put on the lead character and his signature humour and violence rather than solely the film, with Reynolds appearing in character as Deadpool for several different promotions.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_for_Deadpool_(film)
This quote exemplifies beautifully where the focus should always lay: PEOPLE — having the main character be the lead figure in promotion on social media, created a warm connection with the audiences, it made it personal. And the people loved it. We love to be interacted with and having our needs met. Do young people use TikTok? So should your organisation, do young people like to be interacted with? I think I made my point clear.
Fundraising campaigns are also an endless source of creating authenticity in your communications. The message lands differently when your purpose is helping others and creating a better one, but this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to create genuine marketing while working for a for-profit entity. Good ideas sell, great ideas stick- Ikea has created a whole identity of being Swedish despite being owned by the Dutch. Making people feel good and caring for their actual needs is now more important than ever, there are many other furniture shops, but with what do they stand out? What’s their unique selling point? How excited are the people shopping there?
The list goes on, but I would like to end this opinion piece with a few takeaways. From my humble experience, what makes a good story are: