18 FEATURE
marketingmag.com.auMARKETING 2019MARKETING IN A POST-TRUTH ERA
We’re living in an era when people are questioning
everything – and with good reason. Apps like Lyrebird
allow AI to mimic your voice in seconds, while Deepfake
technology makes it possible to create fake video of
someone else. In 2019 misinformation is easy to create and
even easier to share. All of this leaves marketers needing to
be more transparent and open when relaying their brand’s
stories than ever before.
In a 2018 study by McCann Worldgroup’s Truth
Central global intelligence unit, entitled ‘Truth About
Global Brands 2: Powered by the Streets’, truth was seen
as “the most valued currency”. According to the study,
72 percent of people believe “it’s more important to put
the truth before other factors in all situations” (up from
Misinformation is easy
to create and even easier to
share.
61 percent in 2015). They also believe that they need to
read fi ve diff erent sources to get to the truth. In a press
release, Suzanne Powers, global chief strategy offi cer of
McCann Worldgroup, said that the “key takeaway about
people’s attitudes on a global basis is that consumers still
believe in the power of brands and companies to act in
a positive way – and they in fact trust global brands and
corporations more than institutions, political bodies or
other organisations”.
To ensure this trust endures, marketers must be
absolutely clear on their brand values and beliefs, and share
these (and stay true to them!) with their audiences. They
must also invest in building strong communities through
experience marketing eff orts, local engagement and social
impact. While in the McCann study, there was “a rise in
trust for local brands”, 81 percent of people believe that
“global brands have the power to make the world better”.
Being an authentic brand can extend to being a truthful
one, if brands accept this new era of marketing and live
up to the promises they so eagerly push out to their ideal
clients and customers.