People in marketing love to toss around the word ‘authenticity’ when describing brands, we are certainly guilty of it. This new marketing buzzword has played a major part in how brand’s are defining their missions and creating their processes. Backed by a number of studies, this buzzword is here to stay and will only become more important to the success of your business.

So, let’s demystify ‘Brand Authenticity’:

Is authenticity just a fancier way of saying honest?

Honesty is an important part of being authentic, but in terms of describing a brand – there is more to the definition. To be authentic means to uphold a certain level of integrity which includes being completely honest and transparency.

The definition

“The extent to which consumers perceive a brand to be faithful toward itself, true to its consumers, motivated by caring and responsibility, and able to support consumers in being true to themselves.” as defined by The Journal of Consumer Psychology 

To see how your brand fits, ask these four questions:

1. Is your brand faithful to itself?

Does your brand have consistent messaging and missions that weather consumer trends and industry changes?

2. Is your brand true to its consumers?

Are you ‘as advertised’? To be a credible brand it’s important that you fulfil promises and values to your customers.

3. Is your brand built on integrity?

Is your mission statement based on moral principles and does it stay true to its values?

4. Does your brand add meaning or create value?

Is your brand perpetuating value or is it important to what people care about?

Why is brand authenticity important?

Over the last couple of decades consumer behaviour has evolved, and now consumers are finding it difficult to get results through traditional marketing techniques. With convention out the door – businesses are having to shift how and what they are communicating to their customers.

It’s no surprise that Millennials and Generation Y are shopping different than their predecessors. For Millennials, brand authenticity is second only to loyalty discounts in importance when choosing companies to support, according to the BCG study.

On the other hand, inauthenticity can be detrimental to a brand. For example, when United Airlines publicly responded to the passenger being dragged off – the corporation came out with two different messages within 24 hours, the messages contradicted one another. Not only did this result in public confusion, its hypocrisy created a distrust among the public.  

Building brand authenticity and being honest in your marketing is all about giving people a reason to care.

Written by Co-Founder A