“Authenticity” is defined by Webster as: “True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.” It is also a synonym for “Genuine”, which can be defined as “free from hypocrisy or pretense.” When you craft your marketing messages, How can you create them free from overblown or cliche claims while still delivering a story compelling enough to sell your product or service?

As traditional media advertising loses it’s audiences slowly but surely, and customers are increasingly unenchanted by advertising in general, the real communication has come full circle and back to the individual level. New media is based on conversation.

Not only is word of mouth one of the most influential forms of marketing (always has been), it is now spreading rapidly through new social media channels. One could argue that creating the perfect ad copy isn’t really what should be at the top of your priority list. People do not use tag-lines in normal conversation. They do not recite your ad word-for-word when making recommendations.

They will tell their story (experience with your company) or your story (something interesting worth telling about you). Either way, you must give your customers, clients, and prospects something to work with if you expect them to spread your message and/or converse positively about your company, online or off.

This is where being authentic and genuine always carries you through. Compare your product or service to the message you are delivering (or would like to). Would a reasonable person conclude that the two are consistent? Does your brand message convey your company personality or spirit accurately? Most importantly, is it even compelling or interesting enough to get someone talking about it? How remarkable is your story or product?

If your message and product/service to not line up properly, or you have an uninspiring story, you have two choices: Find a better message, or change your product/service. If your product/service is not up to par with the desired message, try to add something (new feature, unique design, model, service offering) that will make the statement and story authentic. Identify company values and purpose (something beyond profits and growth). Highlight the people, values, heritage, missions, origins. The goal is to create a compelling story or message that is worth telling while remaining rock-solid and reliable. The culture of your brand must be built into the processes and practiced inside and out to gain true authenticity.

Michael Hogans’ manifesto, We Need a New Word for Brand, calls for authenticity and stresses the importance of having that “cultural base” that you can rally around:

So authentic brands are not about marketing. They are not products. They live inside the company. And they are held and enacted of the people, by the people and for the people! Just like the Declaration of Independence created the foundation of a nation, so does your brand act as the foundation of your company. Its principles are the framework for thought and action by everyone in the company. Without it there is no consistency, no alignment between what you say and what you do, no synchronicity between who you are inside and the way you present yourself outside.

You may ask—“well isn’t that the same as culture?” The answer is yes and no. Authentic brands are in many ways the identity of the company culture. They help that culture become visible. They also embody the values and purpose of the company, giving all these things a face and a voice that can be seen and heard by everyone the company touches. But especially your employees. As the people who most keenly impact the day-to-day beliefs and actions of the company it is constantly amazing how little they are considered when brand is discussed. It is employees who show the brand to be true or not.

Authentic brands live or die with the people in the organization. If they don’t believe the brand, if they don’t feel it is their cause, no campaign or change program on earth will help it succeed. Authentic brands feel natural. There is no need to “educate” the employees—they feel it immediately. There is no need to launch the “new” brand on your unsuspecting customers—they have known it for years. When you are doing it day in and day out, saying it becomes almost superfluous.

People will notice, and soon the company will be establishing a firm foundation with true brand authenticity. The excercise may not be easy, but it will pay off in the long run with credibility, recommendations, and ultimately, more sales. It will get you much further than generic or grandiose claims or crude humor found around every corner. Your customer will recognize a genuine company when they see it. Honesty with more sales, how refreshing!

Photo by Jeff Poskanzer