No matter what market you’re in, authenticity as a brand attribute is nothing new. But until the past years, it has been only one of a set of approaches for a strategy. The other option - ignoring the truth altogether, or at the very least interpreting it "creatively" – has for a long time been the preferred choice. And with that, the role of advertising agencies has often been to find a way to spin the truth (or to, at least, distract from it.)
Once upon a time, this was fine, so long as the primary voice to the consumer was above-the-line (advertising-led) and therefore controllable. This is no longer the case. In our current age, a brand's image is not solely dependent on a carefully crafted advertising message, but on the conversations and experiences of millions of consumers. Moreover, those experiences and conversations are always-on and public.
Brands MUST therefore adapt. Today, messaging and positioning MUST match the consumer experience or risk extinction. Truth and transparency are the new currency, and consumers want brands to have a point of view on the world. Political but not partisan.
Leading brands and agencies are putting this into practice through a strategy that features meaningful storytelling and high-quality content, portraying a genuine, empathetic understanding of the consumer. Not only does this place more emphasis on the need to be real, but equally, on the need for proof. Bottom line? Consumers are empowered today, and their expectations are high. There is nowhere for brands to hide.
David Ogilvy knew this over fifty years ago when he said that "The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife". More appropriate to our modern day and age, she is also an expert with a smartphone who can find out as much as she wants about a brand in a matter of minutes. If that doesn't match what the advertising says, then the brand hasn't just lost a sale but also (potentially) a lifetime customer. Consider the implications of this.
Once upon a time, this was fine, so long as the primary voice to the consumer was above-the-line (advertising-led) and therefore controllable. This is no longer the case. In our current age, a brand's image is not solely dependent on a carefully crafted advertising message, but on the conversations and experiences of millions of consumers. Moreover, those experiences and conversations are always-on and public.
Brands MUST therefore adapt. Today, messaging and positioning MUST match the consumer experience or risk extinction. Truth and transparency are the new currency, and consumers want brands to have a point of view on the world. Political but not partisan.
Leading brands and agencies are putting this into practice through a strategy that features meaningful storytelling and high-quality content, portraying a genuine, empathetic understanding of the consumer. Not only does this place more emphasis on the need to be real, but equally, on the need for proof. Bottom line? Consumers are empowered today, and their expectations are high. There is nowhere for brands to hide.
David Ogilvy knew this over fifty years ago when he said that "The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife". More appropriate to our modern day and age, she is also an expert with a smartphone who can find out as much as she wants about a brand in a matter of minutes. If that doesn't match what the advertising says, then the brand hasn't just lost a sale but also (potentially) a lifetime customer. Consider the implications of this.
COMMUNICATING TRUTH
Your ultimate goal is to make truth both memorable and sharable, and there are three broad ways to prioritize intentions.
1. FOCUS YOUR CAMPAIGN ON A SINGLE BRAND TRUTH
The days of nuance are over. There must be a declarative truth about your brand that you know or believe matters most to your customers. If you don't have one, your problem is far more significant than anything marketing can fix.
There may be dozens of things the world should know and appreciate about your brand, but you really only have a few seconds to tell people something that might matter to them. Prioritize what you want to say (and then delete everything after the first point.)
2. MAKE IT TANGIBLY REAL NOT A REFERENCE OR ILLUSION
Your consumer's starting point is going to be suspicion and disbelief for anything you choose to share with them. So, the structure of your communication, irrespective of format, should be designed to substantiate your truth.
Be creatively insane, funny or overcome with pathos, but do so with the sole purpose of transferring your single brand truth. Ruthlessly focus on your truth and don't let your execution get distracted by a great joke or otherwise excellent idea. You have a short time to prove something. Do it, don't just say it.
Be creatively insane, funny or overcome with pathos, but do so with the sole purpose of transferring your single brand truth. Ruthlessly focus on your truth and don't let your execution get distracted by a great joke or otherwise excellent idea. You have a short time to prove something. Do it, don't just say it.
3. PRIORITIZE YOUR EXPECTATIONS BY WHAT GETS YOU CLOSEST TO SALES
Make sure that you have some motivator for purchase behaviour in whatever you produce. Make sure you’ve answered the “why?” There are a broad range of ideas you can rely upon to make it clear to your consumer that you have a purpose beyond being their friend and that you're willing to be transparent about it. After all, telling the truth means telling the truth.
IN PRACTICE
The starting point for communications should, therefore, not be what the consumer insights team has identified as a "nice approach" for the brand. It's also not what the brand owners want the world to believe on a "corporate level" about it (delivered beautifully or cleverly.)
The starting point MUST be about articulating what is true about the brand: what cannot be denied about it, and how it can be delivered in a clear, intuitive way. The brands that have a process for telling their truth will sell more products, make more money, keep more customers, and, most importantly, ensure customer and employee loyalty.
ADMIT YOUR LIMITATIONS
It's finally time to eradicate any notion that our job is to put lipstick on a pig. Instead, consider a “blemished sell” that acknowledges the potential downsides of your brand. Why? It feels more human and builds consumer confidence.
ADMIT YOUR LIMITATIONS
It's finally time to eradicate any notion that our job is to put lipstick on a pig. Instead, consider a “blemished sell” that acknowledges the potential downsides of your brand. Why? It feels more human and builds consumer confidence.
A few years back, German car marque OPEL used this approach to re-energise its tired image after consumers described the brand as “old fashioned, boring and dusty”. Rather than trying to cover it up, Opel chose to hit the problem head-on by owning its flaws.
After updating its ageing vehicle portfolio, Opel looked to change people’s perceptions by daring to talk about their bad brand image and low social acceptance in a humorous way.
After updating its ageing vehicle portfolio, Opel looked to change people’s perceptions by daring to talk about their bad brand image and low social acceptance in a humorous way.
Through a series of executions, the car marque addressed the negative preconceptions people had by first running an unbranded out-of-home teaser campaign that encouraged people to be more open-minded, with messages such as ‘18% of German people hate olives, but 60% have never tasted one’, followed by the strapline ‘Repark your mind’.
After revealing that Opel was behind the campaign, the brand then enlisted German celebrities to share their views of the brand for a TV ad before test driving one of the new models and giving their honest impressions, which were also shared via a digital content hub.
Opel achieved an uplift in market share for the first time in more than a decade and is keeping up that momentum. Between January and April this year, sales increased by 3.3% while the overall European car market grew by only 2.6%. Opel’s CMO attributed the success to being consumer centric, radically honest and authentic, bringing in new products and publishing consumer feedback on digital channels - including criticism.
WALK THE WALK
PATAGONIA, for example, shares the progress of all its various activities via The Cleanest Line blog. A recent post explained how a deeper dive into its supply chain revealed migrant workers in Taiwan were having to pay extortionate fees to labour brokers in order to get a job, which led to the creation of a new procurement standard at the company.
Yet Patagonia believes an honest approach to sustainability efforts, which includes revealing difficulties and missteps, pays off in the long term.
Adam Fetcher, Director of Global Communication, explaines, “Showing there’s good and bad in everything we do as a global company – even as a company that tries hard to be responsible – shouldn’t be defined as ‘exposing’ anything. We should all know from our experience as humans that nothing is perfect and we can only strive harder to soften the footprint we have on our planet and on the people involved in the production of our products. Transparent communication is easy once you start with that assumption.”
Patagonia is taking impressive action to reduce their environmental impact. All of their cotton is certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and they’re Bluesign® certified for 56% of their fabrics. A high proportion of their materials are made from recycled fabrics, including their polyester, nylon, and wool. Patagonia belongs to both the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and 1% For The Planet. They reject fast fashion by creating high-quality, long-lasting products and offer a repair and reuse program. They even go so far as to discourage customers from purchasing too many of their products.
Ultimately, brands have two paths - radical honesty or an eventual (terminal) loss of trust. Why not start today?
