Is your brand earnest and authentic? Of course it is, right? Why else would you work there? But before you pat yourself on the back, high-five your colleagues or praise your boss’ philanthropic deeds, think hard. Really hard. Because your brand is under the magnifying glass more than ever. And today’s consumers (and employees) are more motivated, savvy and demanding than ever before.
Throughout the socioeconomic realm, the cultural impacts of the pandemic show less of a pivot and more of an acceleration of changes already under way. This is also true of consumers’ concerns about authenticity in brands. If Millennials and GenZ’ers cared about brand authenticity, transparency and trustworthiness in 2019, they happen to care a whole lot more right now. And why is this important? Because they also know how to get the word out, can be very unforgiving and can do damage far beyond the loss of one customer.
Furthermore, employees and top talent – yes, the most important asset in your organization – have an ever stronger fixation with company culture. Once the territory of a handful of cult-like companies, culture is now front and center on every startup’s and big corporation’s website and HR manual. Zappos, led by the late rock star CEO, Tony Hsieh, took corporate culture and authenticity to new heights. Tragically, Hsieh also passed like a rock star last December, but left behind him a string of fans and followers prioritizing culture over pay or strategy.
Yet, when you dig deep, you realize the layer of authenticity can be fairly thin. Companies’ intentions seem to be in the right place, but the goals and expectations are often far more ambitious than their ability to deliver. A value, a mission or a brand promise should be a lot more than a few pixels on your website or a plaque on your lobby. If you preach them, you should stick to them without compromise even and especially through critical times. Otherwise the words take on as farcical a meaning as we’ve seen on the aforementioned 19th century play.
For starters, let’s review the definition of authentic:
If you test your company’s mission, vision, values, brand promise or unique selling proposition against the above definitions, would they stand solidly against them? You may think they do, but let me share a few real-life examples of strong-culture brands that have failed the test.
- The head of HR at a renowned apparel firm that describes itself as quite literally “selling a culture of personalization” thanked a senior job candidate for an interview that never took place.
- A senior marketing executive at a CPG company with a core value of “honesty” got called out by her own employees for releasing a manipulative lie to the press.
- A thriving tech company with a strict culture of “teamwork and checking your ego at the door,” showed the door to the COO, CMO, CTO, CRO and Chief Culture Officer within six months of hiring them in what turned into an ego clashing, revolving door C-suite.
- A major online portal claimed to be the fastest, broadest and cheapest when it was actually the slowest, only wall-gardened service in a space overloaded with free offerings.
- A major healthcare corporation ghosted a finalist VP candidate after a round of a dozen interviews over six weeks. Their core value? “We care about people.”
Every company is entitled to slip up here and there, and you’ll always find a bad apple. But in the above examples, and others I have researched, leadership remained in complete denial with no intentions to right a wrong. In today’s reality, these brands could soon end up in the doghouse with customers and talent as soon as they realize their authenticity is shorter than their list of values.
The main issue we can observe is not malicious or dishonest intentions, it’s more about punching above their weight. When Apple came out with “Think Different,” they meant it. They thought differently, their core customer base wanted something different, and they delivered. Steve Jobs was not known to be a philanthropist, nor was he Mr. Nice Guy. And he never preached to be any of that. He was all about making some of the best products in the world. Apple set strong, authentic, meaningful values back in 1981, and Jobs stuck firmly to them even in the face of adversity – and God knows he’s been there – until the day he died. Tim Cook continues that legacy. That is why we trust Apple, we believe them, we are loyal to the brand, we keep buying their products and we knowingly pay a high premium for them.
A healthcare company can aspire to making my life better, but not a box of cereal. A toothpaste will not make the world a better place, no matter how environmentally friendly they are. And a car will not change my inner self. But my morning breakfast, my dental hygiene and my ride do mean something in my day-to-day life. I expect brands to have integrity, care for the environment and respect consumers’ privacy, but I don’t need my toothpaste to save the planet.
When I was CMO at GiftCards.com, we developed the tagline “make ‘em smile.” That became the company’s mantra – making people smile. Simple by design. That was our mission, and we know from consistent research that whenever someone gives a friend or loved one a meaningful, personalized gift card, the recipient smiles, as does the giver. It is a humble, yet noble purpose. The world can use more smiles, and we contributed to that cause. I always used to tell our team “we’re not finding the cure for cancer, we’re not sending humankind to the moon, we’re just making people smile.” And that simple mission got us all out of bed every morning and helped us build the biggest brand in the industry.
When developing mission statements, taglines or values, companies need to think hard about questions like… What are we best at? What were we first at? What makes us unique? What can only be said about us? Those are the things they should focus on. We don’t all have to save the world, end hunger or invent the next killer tech wearable. Most companies bring a lot of value to the table. Be pleased by that. Celebrate it. Be real, authentic. Don’t oversell. Don’t overpromise. You’ll come short. And you’ll get caught.
Forbes quotes a study revealing that 86% of people say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support. That number jumps to 90% when you focus on Millennials, who prefer ‘real and organic’ over ‘perfect and packaged.’ What’s troubling and ironic, is that 57% of Millennials consider less than half of brands authentic. And authenticity can’t be faked, because it ceases to be. Being authentic implies accountability and integrity in keeping your brand promise. It calls for transparency and humility. Consumers know an authentic brand when they see it, and they prioritize spending accordingly.
If you travel back to the Madison Avenue of the 60’s and 70’s, authenticity didn’t even have a seat at the table. Today it’s the polar opposite, and I would argue one of the most important brand attributes. Building an authentic brand is complex and requires a lot of introspection, reality checks and a certain level of humility. But for your brand’s long term health, don’t underestimate the importance of branding earnest(ly).