Real is rare: let's reclaim authenticity

<p><b>Authenticity. It’s unfortunately become a bit of a buzzword in the branding world, and that is a pet peeve of mine!</b></p> <p>Because so many companies have been misusing authenticity as a marketing gimmick to appeal to people’s yearning for something genuine, trustworthy, sincere products and experiences, “authentic” no longer carries the same meaning as it used to. </p> <p>So now, when a brand claims to be authentic, instead of leading to increased levels of trust — it often leads to scepticism and cynicism. That’s because we, as consumers, increasingly recognise that many brands use authenticity as a fancy facade to hide their true intentions. And those intentions are often focused on profit, profit and more profit, at any cost. As a result, these cynical brands have ruined authenticity for the rest of us, and it’s pissing me off big time!</p> <p>Can we reverse this damage? I think we can, but it’s going to take some work. As human-centred brands, we need to take a different approach, one that prioritises authenticity in every aspect of our businesses — without shouting about it as if it’s a big deal. I mean, it kinda <b><i>is</i></b> a big deal, but really it should just be the norm. We shouldn’t have to question someone’s authenticity, but here we are.</p> <p>Tune in to hear my take on this!</p> <p><b>TL;DR — episode links:</b></p> <ul><li><a href="https://petchy.co/podcast/" target="_blank">Shownotes</a></li><li><a href="https://petchy.co/design" target="_blank">Strategic brand design</a></li><li><a href="https://petchy.co/boost" target="_blank">Brand Boost</a></li><li><a href="https://petchy.co/strategy" target="_blank">Brand it! strategy hours</a></li><li><a href="https://schedule.petchy.co/loveyourbrand" target="_blank">Book a free call</a></li><li>Free five day micro course: <a href="https://petchy.co/brandvalues/" target="_blank">Brand values, not bland values!</a></li></ul>