Why Embracing Authenticity is the Key to Brand Success

Welcome back from summer! I hope it was restful, meaningful, and productive enough that you start the fall season with momentum.

I was pretty busy this summer. I helped a client navigate a brand transition, built a website with a related storefront, produced some promotional videos, and did a lot of writing for both corporate and nonprofit clients.?

Increasingly, I’ve been ghost writing for clients who have plenty of good ideas but not enough time to put pen to paper–or pixels to screens, as it were. One of the topics that keeps coming up is authenticity.

We know that authenticity for a brand is, in many instances, the ideal. (Also this summer I rewatched Mad Men, the best drama in TV history, which ended with the famous Coke ad where sugar water with artificial color was sold as “The Real Thing”.)

Psychology Today, in a 2023 article titled “Consumers Want Brands to Be Authentic”, notes that “70 percent of consumers reportedly spend more with authentic brands.” There’s less data for nonprofits, but I feel pretty confident in saying that this likely translates into engagement for member and donor driver organizations.

I’m sure none of this comes as a surprise. We’ve been talking about trust and purpose and authenticity since our world was turned upside down during the pandemic and we were forced to sit in rooms by ourselves and try to make sense of it all. (And then, of course because we’re human, everything mostly went back to the way it was except for a few key things–but that’s a topic for another day.)

Really, though, what does it mean for a brand to be authentic? I suppose you could define it in the negative: not fake. But we all know that such a simple definition would not be of much use at the next pitch meeting.

I would argue that, in the case of defining a person or a product, the opposite of authentic is opportunistic.

Here’s the first definition for “opportunistic” from Oxford: “Exploiting chances offered by immediate circumstances without reference to a general plan or moral principle.” That sounds about right to me; “opportunistic” is a pejorative. It suggests a grasping.?

So what’s wrong with that definition from a MarComms perspective? Let’s break it down:

1. Exploiting. Essentially, you’re doing something primarily for external reasons instead of internal. You are taking advantage of a moment in time.
2. Chances. A chance comes to you–which while possibly beneficial, can be unexpected and unpredictable, versus making your own luck on your terms. “Opportunity” may be an analogous concept, but jumping on the wrong opportunity, for example, can lead to mission creep or over extension of your brand.
3. Offered by immediate circumstances. What I see here is reacting to the latest trends, instead of being a part of shaping and defining them. You won’t come off as authentic if you’re always playing catch-up.
4. Without reference to a general plan. That sort of sounds like making it up as you go, no? Again, don’t try that at the pitch meeting.
5. A moral principle. We could talk about morals all day, especially in regards to corporate spaces. Morals? Really? But instead of thinking about it those terms, what about considering what your guiding force is? Your priorities? Your why?

Of course, an argument can be made that any of these five concepts can be effective and valuable at the right time. Sure. You might have short term success–maybe even substantial taking a chance or winging it when things go sideways.?

But you won’t have sustained success, and the damage in the long run may be irreversible.

Let’s look at a few ways to avoid being opportunistic.

The response to chance and opportunity can be mitigated with regularly reviewed data–both the obvious like analyzing specific web traffic data and social media engagement numbers, but also in understanding the data regarding the current interests and behaviors of your target audiences.

Look at it this way: When you go on vacation to a new place for a special occasion, do you drive around without a map looking for a restaurant that will make the celebration perfect? Or do you do lots and lots of research days and weeks in advance? And, do you just pick a place that you like, or do you pick a place where people like you are going?

Let’s consider this moral imperative a little more, too. A 2022 study from Razorfish titled “The Truth, Myths, and Nuances Behind Purpose” observed, “82% of respondents stated that the brands they buy personally (and 75% of the brands their friends buy) stand for a greater mission/purpose.” Apple didn’t start out with a plan to charge people $1,600 for computers. They wanted to make this thing they loved accessible to more people.?

The United Nations Foundation and the Brookings Institute have done a lot of good work around this their Sustainable Development Goals. Speaking of maps, this is a really good one.?

Finally, let’s talk about planning. I’ll be honest, it’s not my strongest suit. I’ve been developing brands, launching and managing campaigns, and monitoring data for 20-plus years, and often just want to get going. But that experience has also given me plenty of incontrovertible proof that, in the end, the cost of charging ahead is paid in efficiency and, ultimately, effectiveness.

So much of this preventative maintenance. As someone who avoids the dentist like the plague, I could tell you a few very personal horror stories about the cost (figuratively and literally) of ignoring preventative maintenance.?

I’ve become a huge fan of check-lists, not just with to-dos and the steps to get there (I use, like, four different apps), but also with the ongoing involvement of constituents, customers, and key stakeholders.

In my recent experience I’ve been involved with two major announcements where the lead consultant and management didn’t prepare key voices for what was coming. In one case, it completely destroyed the rollout–partly because the organization was already suffering from a trust deficit. In the other, because the organization has been doing good, transparent change-work on a steady and collaborative trajectory, recovery was accomplished relatively painlessly.

In the end, what’s more of a waste of time? A courtesy call you find out was unnecessary afterward? Or cleaning up a mess created by a customer or constituent who feels slighted because you didn’t think to reach out to them? Even better, that courtesy call may not just prevent a mess, it could be a reason to spark a new discussion that could lead to a great collaboration.

And, this leads us back to a key component in authenticity: relationship building and relationship maintaining. Ultimately, if you consider your MarComms mix–whether you’re a corporation or a nonprofit–as, in some ways, being in conversation with your audience, you will have much of what you need to tell them a compelling story about why they should come to your performance, buy your toaster, or get on board with your change of direction.?

In the end, we're not just talking about the way a company or organization presents itself to the world, nor how it conducts itself with staff and stakeholders. Rather, we're talking about a way of doing business. Nobody wants their time wasted, be it a client or a consumer.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about authenticity. It is something that has always been incredibly important to me as a person and as a professional. I was recently flattered by a message from a creative professional I’d only worked with briefly on a short-term assignment backing up a colleague, who said “it’s rare for someone who is filling in to be so honest and straightforward, so you made an immediate impression.”

The expression goes, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” I’ve found with some consultants, it’s pretty much just smoke.

If you think your company or nonprofit could use a little fire in its quest to be more authentic, let’s talk. I have some time this fall. We can work together for just a few hours of evaluation, or a longer engagement based on campaign, project, or even company-wide needs. I can also help sharpen executive communications, both internally and externally.

It’s going to be a loud, messy next few months. Stay focused, take the time you need, and reach higher! There’s lots of work to be done.