Customers often look at brands to express themselves. David Aaker, an early authority on branding finds customers use brands to self-enhance or to self-verify.

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With brands acquiring such a central space in modern culture the question of authenticity is important. Brand authenticity has also come onto the question with the liberalization of the production process. The constraints of skill, capital investment have been mitigated to a large extent with the growth in factories around China, India and other parts of Asia who act as outsourced manufacturing units. But again, we must be careful as to not limit the scope of this discussion.

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The question of brand authenticity involves two major dimensions.

The first is purely about the truth and the false. For example, someone imitating a successful brand but selling inferior quality goods. While this is a pervasive problem and impacts brands to the tune of billions of dollars, it is also a problem that is easy to define. This is a problem that has legal definitions and resources to institutional actions.

But what would happen if the brand itself begins to compromise on its brand values. What if a brand is not completely honest?

Mind you the problem of brand authenticity is not one of inferior quality goods, though it could be. The problem of brand authenticity is about deviating from one’s original value based on which the brand was selected by the customers.

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The problem of brand authenticity is also one where the brand tries to copy another brand. This act of copying could be right from the inception. When someone launches a brand with the intention of copying an existing successful brand. Or this could also be a case that a brand losing market share to the other brand resorts to copying the successful brand.

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Why is it important?

A report published by Stackla in 2019 stated

90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support

The report was in reference to authenticity of content released by brands not only spoke highly about the importance of authenticity from the customers perspective but from the perspective of marketers too.

More than 90% of the marketers that were surveyed for the report agreed that authenticity is the most important factor.

However, interestingly the report also found a major gap in the perception.

While 92% marketers thought that their customers perceive their brand content as authentic only 51% of the customers agreed on this point. There is clearly much to be done by brands in the interest of authenticity.

What helps with brand authenticity

Be consistent

Consistency across messaging, the brand story, format, and language.

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Build credibility

One cannot promote the merits of a vegan brand while enjoying a piece of steak.

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Be transparent

94% of customers are likely to be loyal to brands that offer transparency.

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Own your imperfections

Do not be afraid to expose some imperfections that are benign.

While brand authenticity as a subject is concerned with all domains it is equally important to the content that brands release. With the growing importance of video as a format we can help you create authentic stories.

Write to us at hello@allinmotion.com to know more.