Marketing Australia – February-March 2019

MARKETING 2019

14 FEATURE

Can authentic

brands handle

the truth?

Spend an hour at any marketing conference and you’re sure to hear the word

‘authenticity’ used multiple times in keynotes and panel discussions. In the last

decade, authenticity has become one of the biggest buzzwords in brand. But is an

authentic brand the same as a truthful one? Is there a difference? And, if so, how

does it impact marketers and those being marketed to?Fiona Killackeyinvestigates.

Every marketer knows that consumers pass through

three key stages when building loyalty with a brand:

1. know


2. like, and


3. trust.
   It’s this last stage that’s the hardest to cultivate and the
   easiest to destroy. We have all witnessed brands we once
   loved fall by the wayside when a lack of trust dislodged
   their once stable ground. Likewise, we have seen brands we
   didn’t immediately notice rise to a place of prominence by
   being continually true to their word, even when fi nancial
   pressures could have led them in other directions.
   But what actually makes a brand trustworthy and
   is an authentic brand one you can always trust? Does
   authenticity equate to trustworthiness or are the two
   completely diff erent brand traits?
   The word authentic has been used perhaps more
   than any other word in the last decade, when it comes
   to ways for marketers to explain their brand message or
   ideal connection with customers. 'We always strive to be
   authentic' is as overused as 'We know our customers seek

authenticity so that’s what we’re delivering'. But what does

authenticity really mean? The textbook defi nition for

authentic is to be “of undisputed origin and not a copy;

genuine”, but also to be “representing one’s true nature or

beliefs”. It’s with this latter defi nition that marketing can

get muddy. In the last decade we have witnessed a backlash

against brands that appear inauthentic, as well as a surge of

brands eager to show the people and processes behind the

business as a way of appearing genuine and relatable.

In February 2018, while speaking at the Consumer

Analyst Group New York (CAGNY) industry conference,

Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone said, “Consumers are

looking to pierce the corporate veil... to look at what’s

behind the brand... The guys responsible for this are the

Millennials.”

WHY DO MILLENNIALS CARE?

Millennials, those born between the 1980s and early

2000s are now one of the most powerful consumer groups

in the world. They are also living their lives in ways not

seen before – choosing to forgo career-long employment

marketingmag.com.au