Marketing guru Seth Godin talks about Brand Authenticity

branding experts
The differentiating power of brand authenticity

When best-selling author, entrepreneur and marketing guru Seth Godin spoke with Brandchannel editor Shirley Brady about what brands need to do to stay relevant, authentic and innovative at the Brandemonium 2017 conference in Cincinnati, his view on the role of brand authenticity stood-out.

Working with so many businesses on developing their branding and marketing for many years, I am a strong advocate for building a brand from a foundation of Authenticity. As Godin explains, for many businesses brand authenticity is a misunderstood and undervalued business strategy.

“Authenticity is a minefield, and the reason is; the last time any of us were truly authentic is when we were three months old in diapers. Ever since then we’ve been doing things on purpose.’ says Godin.

We don’t do only what we feel like, we do what we believe is going to work. And it’s naive to think that  company, a group of people is going to uniformly act however they feel like in the moment. That’s not what it is. Authenticity means; acting in a way that we expect you to act, being consistent, even when we’re not looking. And that’s when brands fall apart, when we discover that behind the scenes you’re not who we thought you were. But if we’re consistent in being who people think we are, then we’re seen as authentic. When we’re seen as authentic the promise of the brand becomes more valuable.”

My experience as a creator of brands for more than 25 years has been that brands with an authenticity borne from passion and craft are provided an extraordinarily powerful differentiator that resonates with their clients and customers. When a business is seen as staying true to the pure principals of their craft, being bread baking, pasta making, 4-wheel driving, recruiting for adrenaline brands or whatever, they are seen as being authentic in the most positive manner. When this authenticity is also driven by passion, the benefit increases exponentially, transforming them into the leader of their own cultural tribe (think Red Bull, Harley Davidson and Australia’s R.M. Williams).

When competing in their market against brands with more functional attributes, these craft brands driven by passion have a strong resonance and preference with their consumers – a natural advantage of preference.

You can read the complete interview on Brandchannel here.

Dave Ansett
David is the founder of Truly Deeply, a brand agency with 25 years experience working with brands to position them for growth. His deep expertise is in the creation of high engagement brands that attract the attention of their audience and stand out from their competitors. David has extensive experience working with corporate, retail, food & beverage and entrepreneurial clients. Find out more here
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Pic from Seth Godin

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