Why brand authenticity wins over marketing perfection every time
Have you ever seen an ad that stopped you in your tracks, just because it felt so real? Has a piece of marketing ever made you think, wow, nobody else could have gotten away with that?
To me, moments like these are the holy grail of marketing. Even if I don’t know the brand and have no interest in the product, it just makes me giddy to see marketing that truly embraces authenticity.
The internet – and social media especially – really changed the game, lowering the costs and risks of trying new things with marketing. Trying something weird, edgy or different is difficult to justify when you’re paying top dollar for the ad space. But on social media, where all it costs you is your time? The only thing holding you back is your courage. (Okay, and maybe your CEO or board of directors.)
Now, I’m not here to say that every brand should embrace the weirdest and wackiest advertising they can imagine. That’s not going to be authentic to most brands – we’ll get into what authenticity should look like for you. But first: a detour to Denny’s Diner.
Denny’s, and brands being weird on the internet
Even before Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, some brands were embracing the wild-west nature of the early internet by creating weird online personas, and were often rewarded for it.
Most notably, Denny’s – the American diner chain – gained notoriety for starting a Tumblr account (an early blogging-slash-social-media platform famous for its weird niche communities) where they fully embraced the internet culture of the day. Denny’s was posting memes and engaging with fans in ways that matched and even exceeded the weirdness of the platform and the internet as a whole, going viral (or what passed for viral 15 years ago) over and over for content that, as one internet commenter described it, “captured exactly what it feels like to be in a Denny’s at 3am.”
But as is the way of the marketing world, Denny’s soon had its imitators, and they started with similar restaurants. Wendy’s became known for doing similar things on Twitter (where Denny’s has also been active), and many other fast food chains effectively copied the model with varying degrees of commitment and success.
The problem with all of this is that, while it was once novel and effective, the many copycats have caused this to no longer feel unique, and have arguably demonstrated why this was never truly “authentic” to begin with. Innovative and entertaining, yes. But authentic? I don’t think so.
How to craft an authentic brand voice
It may sound ironic on the face of it, the idea of “crafting” an authentic voice. How authentic can it be if you had to craft it?
But hear me out. I believe true authenticity for brands should be a natural extension of having a few key things in place:
- Well-defined values
- A strong USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
- A robust copy / style guide
If you are missing any of the above, or if they are not well defined, it’s likely your marketing will be less consistent, lower quality, more easily swayed by the trends and movements around you, and ultimately inauthentic.
[And for those who didn’t go to marketing or business school: a USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, is a concise description of what makes your product or service different from your competitors.]
If you have the above, and have done them well, authenticity in marketing should become easy. Whether you do your own marketing, have an employee or team, or hire an agency (like Starling Social, for instance!), these things should act as a roadmap for marketing that feels grounded in everything that makes your business unique.
And that doesn’t have to mean weird. Some of the best marketing I’ve seen has felt authentic simply because it’s real, it’s unique to the brand, and it isn’t trying to be anything it’s not.
Why authenticity beats marketing perfection every time
If the backlash to AI in digital marketing can teach us anything, it’s that most people can smell marketing that is inauthentic.
We even see research bear that out. Companies like Meta conduct regular user surveys to test ad recall, and even ads that do everything “right” will have a substantial number of people scroll right past, quickly forgetting what they saw.
We don’t have the data to prove why someone can’t recall a given ad because, well, they forgot it already. But we know that authenticity gets attention and increases retention and conversion, especially among younger audiences.
A survey from Stackla found that 90% of Millennials say authenticity is important for them when deciding what brands to buy from. And they’re not alone – 85% of Gen X respondents said the same, along with 80% of Baby Boomers.
Authenticity also builds brand trust, something that is both increasingly important and increasingly rare according to numerous studies. While the average consumer today has lower trust in most companies and institutions than they did in decades past, they value it more and will reward those companies which earn and keep that trust.
Another thing consumers care about now more than ever before is supporting brands whose values align with their own. That can be tricky, especially when your values might get mixed up in politics and other touchy, controversial subjects. However, messaging that may exclude some customers can often be extra effective for attracting and retaining other, better customers.
A very basic version of this is the modern trend of ads that say something like, “our product isn’t for everyone,” or “our product isn’t cheap” – implying by exclusion that it might be just your kind of thing, or very high quality. This can be very effective – although beware being the late copycat using a trope that your customers have seen too many times.
How can we help?
If you could use help finding your brand’s authentic voice, or using it to create great marketing, we are here for you.
Whether it’s a one-time brand audit, help with a specific campaign, or ongoing management of your social media channels, Starling Social has the team and tools to elevate your digital marketing into something truly authentic, and truly effective.
Get in touch today and let us know how we can help.
