Authenticity: Fundamental to Creating & Sustaining a Brand?

In Fortune magazine of 22 October 2007, the CEO of Burberry, Angela Ahrendts, emphasised the importance of being “British” as a differentiator for the fashion brand. She stated, “Our goal is not to be Hermės or Bottega Veneta. Britishness is so much a part of what we’re about – now let’s do that better than anyone in the world.”

She understands the nature of authenticity – or as some would put it, knowing your roots and sticking to them.

Authenticity is what makes a brand relevant to customer needs - yet unique in its appeal

Authenticity is about what sets one brand apart from another – in a manner that is relevant to its customers. Being authentic means a brand is unique in the way it satisfies consumer needs – in a way that no other brand can. Being authentic also means the brand owner knows what makes the brand unique, which enables him/ her to deliver that uniqueness to the market, time and time again. And even though times - and people’s needs - change, authentic brands retain what makes them unique.

In Seven Habits of Authentic Brands Beverland states that authenticity is the “manifestation of the search for what is real”.

This authenticity can take many forms. The point is to create it - or to know what it is - and to manage it to retain its authenticity. It assumes a deep understanding of your brand, not just the easy or superficial parts like its identity elements.

Sadly, we often only understand brands by looking at their easy parts – what we can see. This fundamentally undermines brand authenticity and assumes consumers are ignorant enough only to look at the visual aspects of a brand. A brand is hardly ever just an image – and if it is only that, it will not last for long.

Beverland states that authentic brands “stick to their roots” and revere their heritage and traditions. They share unique traits that enable them to retain their relationship with their customers, with integrity and honesty. Mostly the staff members within authentic brands are passionate about what they do – for them it is not just another job. Beverland states that authentic brands have a unique consumer dialogue: they have excellent quality, they are devoted to a craft, they respect their heritage and traditions, they have a sense of place. In fact, authentic brands are serious about what they are.

Harley-Davidson offers uniquely designed motorcycles, and has created a global cult following based on this uniqueness. And despite having sophisticated technology, they appear “old-fashioned” – which sets them apart from their rivals and further endorses their uniqueness. Zippo lighters look deliberately industrial and devoid of any aesthetic or “designer” elements. The ”crude” elements of these brands set them apart (in fact, they look “real”; not in a given way).

Traditional marketing often undermines authentic brands by its “averaging” and globalisation. The ultimate result is brand commoditisation: when all brands seem the same. Once this happens in an industry, the lowest price will determine sales. Sadly, only one can ever be number one; the other brands depend on being different in (hopefully) an authentic way.

Some authentic brands have such a strong dialogue with their consumers that they almost become the “property” of consumers, which is both good and bad in the era of “information democracy”. Yet, if it works positively for a brand, it is very powerful. When a brand is completely honest, it does not even matter if it is criticised at times. If managed well, criticism can even better “root” a brand and make it more credible!

Beverland states that consumers know when a brand is not authentic – much of authenticity lies in consumers’ feelings about brands, not only as they see them perform. Authenticity is therefore “grounded” in intuition.

Multinationals often buy authentic brands and then – by default or by planning - “kill” them! He states how Quaker Oats failed to retain the authenticity of the Snapple brand. Most large companies tend to “kill” brands that sit on the “fringes” – their systems, operations and ways of working cannot accommodate outlying brands that do not leverage the economies of scale associated with large multinationals (i.e. standardised packaging, standardised franchising, standardised sizes, standardised design, standardised distribution).

Authenticity implies differentiation: what makes a brand so unique that it occupies a unique space in the minds of its stakeholders. It is fair to say that a brand cannot be authentic if it is not unique in at least one significant way.

Authenticity stems from an inherent uniqueness that is often founded in a person’s aptitude or a company’s culture

Authenticity often stems from a person’s personality and his/ her craft, a cultural group or the culture of a community or country. This is the golden thread that runs through any authentic brand. The motif socialises everyone associated with the brand into a particular way of thinking and doing.

Many brands started their lives as the products of highly skilled craftsman – brands like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dom Perignon, Prada and Versace. In these instances, the very high level of skill, the materials used and the

particular design elements required to manufacture these products make the brands unique and have enabled them to retain their authenticity over generations – even after some have been sold to other owners. The authenticity is manufactured “into” the brand.

Some companies use societies to create brands, like the unique way in which the Benetton company uses subcontractors to manufacture its basic grey raw materials, giving it several competitive advantages such as flexibility in supply and demand, flexibility in fashion colours, an advantage in pricing, and flexibility in the type of designs and garments it can offer (and the speed with which it can do that). Their way of operating has created a unique brand with a unique culture that creates authenticity.

Some brand owners have created a unique culture within their companies, which enabled their products and services to retain an air of uniqueness. Compare brands like Singapore Airline, Emirates, Apple and Orange. A company like Sony, after the Second World War, did the same, as did Walt Disney and Sam Walton – in all these instances, the founder had a very clear idea of what he wanted to achieve. To a greater or lesser extent, future generations have been able to retain that culture.

Beverland states that authentic brands will “not sacrifice quality for economy”.

In many instances, the uniqueness of countries permeates many of their famous products and services, such as:

The Italians in fashion, food and design. The Scandinavians in product design. South-East Asia in standardised production efficiency. The United States, with its cultural diversity, in software and

entertainment like movies and music. The highly structured Germans in heavy engineering and

pharmaceuticals. The unique taste sensation of Mexican, Indian or Thai cuisine. Italian cars have historically been more sensuous in their design.

Other than authenticity implying uniqueness, it must also satisfy a consumer need in a substantive manner.

Dieter Rams, keynote designer for many iconic products manufactured by Braun, believes that products must appeal to real human needs, and must not be superficial or trend-driven. He states that products must not “impose” themselves upon consumers, “the aesthetic quality of a product is ultimately a part of its utility” and “I hate everything that is driven by fashion.” To him, integrity – that creates authenticity – is central. “A product must not claim features – more innovative, more efficient or higher value – it does not have. It must not influence or manipulate buyers and users.”

Rams outlines the key elements of brand design as being:

Innovative (functionality and design must be in tandem); Useful (function predominates and must not be overshadowed by

aesthetic); Honest (it does not misrepresent what it is); Unobtrusive (they must fulfil a purpose, so their design must be neutral

and restrained); Understandable (be self-explanatory on usage); Aesthetic (integral to its purpose); Long lasting (will survive short term fads and fashions); Thorough to the last detail; Environmentally friendly; and As little design as possible (pure, simple, concentrating on the

essentials).

The very basis for his many award-winning consumer products that dominated the Braun company for many years, lies in authenticity. His signature was clear; everything he did remained true to his philosophy.

Steve Jobs sums up good design as, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Authenticity comes from within.

The sources of authenticity

There are many layers of what makes a brand unique - we outline some of them here. The important thing is that unique and authentic brands are “true” on many layers of meaning. They generally “have a story to tell” that is not entirely fictitious.

Beverland states that authentic brands “tell stories” that have “many layers of meaning”. He mentions many sources of brand stories, notably:

The founder or family who founded it; The challenges the brand had to overcome to become successful; How the brand was conceived or created; How the brand impacts on the community; Where the brand comes from – locality (in wine, it matters); Stories about the people who use the brand; and Stories about the product or service itself.

Successful brands have stories that straddle many of these layers. When something is authentic, it attracts stories that build its reputation and “layers” its “meaning”. In Africa, much of this will lie in the pioneering spirit of first mover brands (into a “dark” continent) and their unique connection with society that empowers many people; this is what makes for legend, not only authenticity!

In a cluttered brand world, authenticity creates exponential brand value

Product and service parity is one of the major challenges facing brands in every conceivable product or service category. It has become almost impossible to distinguish one brand from another in the same category, albeit motor cars, shampoo brands or airlines. This is not good for the very concept of branding, and it is certainly not good for business. While all companies are now excited about the growth they gain from emerging markets, a time will come again when markets stagnate and brands become commoditised.

If you conduct consumer research into brands in most product or service categories, you will find a very high degree of “same-ness”: brands in the same category are perceived the same. Based on pure performance factors, the brands are the same. Over time, this same-ness undermines differentiation and leads to commoditisation. Once this happens, consumers will simply buy the cheapest brand they can get. This is true for industries like airlines, hotel rooms and many other product and service categories.

How to manage brand value is a fundamental challenge for marketers. To do so, consumers have to believe one brand is better than another.

Authenticity reflects back to what makes a given brand different – as within this difference, lies its ability to service its customers better than any other brand.

Consumers know that a Harley-Davidson is different from any other motorcycle – it looks different, performs different and it also makes its owners feel different. It is this difference that consumers pay for when they buy the brand. Relative to other brands like Yamaha, a Harley-Davidson looks “old fashioned” in its design – yet it is what makes the brand stand out and retain its franchise. If the brand owner undermines this difference, it will undermine the value the consumer places in the brand. This very same principle applies to brands like Mini, VW Beetle and many others.

How significant this authenticity is, was illustrated when Coca-Cola changed its recipe/ taste to be closer to the taste of Pepsi (“for a new generation”) – it had a major impact upon the sales of Coca-Cola, and they immediately reversed the decision. Consumers associated a given taste experience with Coca-Cola. If they wanted a sweeter cola, they would have bought Pepsi-Cola.

Chanel No. 5 is still made exactly the same way, and the bottle looks the same. Despite much that has changed in the world, it is still a classic.

To sustain a brand beyond the founder, demands a deep understanding of what makes it authentic

In most instances what makes a brand authentic is the culture that is created by a founder within a given company.

Richard Branson has a certain mind-set and a certain attitude that believes he can offer better value to customers within given product and service categories. He does that in a way that challenges the status quo and the prevailing way of doing things. He has done this in many industries, from air travel, train travel, car hire and soft drinks to gyms, financial services and telecommunications. In every instance the Virgin brand offers a better experience and better value.

The same principle applies to Apple – so much so, that the value of the company waxes and wanes on the basis of the health of Steve Jobs. Will an Apple company without Steve Jobs be able to replicate the significant innovation it has made in so many industries?

The answer has to be simple – unless the founder has inculcated the DNA of the company into its leadership and staff, it will not survive. If the culture is inculcated into the DNA of the company, it will survive. But as history tells us, that is very difficult.

Managing authenticity while retaining actuality and relevance: how to balance what is unique with what is current

Three layers of brand understanding are required to understand and be able to manage authenticity. This view is loosely based on two theorists, Levin and Rokeach.

A brand owner has to understand what is core to retain the brand, while also managing what keeps the brand current.

What is core to the brand?

Fundamentally, there are aspects to a brand that are so inherently part of it that dropping them will kill the brand. It is important for a brand owner to know what these aspects are because its authenticity can be retained by carefully managing this uniqueness.

For a brand like Harley-Davidson, this will include its unique design-language: it is styled differently than any other motorcycle, and has attained a unique following because of this uniqueness. As a brand, it has a particular irreverent attitude that goes with its design. It is not a brand everyone feels comfortable with. The brand is created in the dialogue between people and brand. It is like a living organism. On the one hand, it expresses the desire for freedom and the “rebel within”; on the other, users engage the brand and add their own uniqueness to it in the way they look, dress, what they say and where they go.

Even the role of the sexes is ambivalent – different yet similar. The brand is layered uniquely. One can say that much of the brand relates to the interface within individuals, among individuals “within the fold” and between “the fold” and society. There is a tension that creates a unique solidarity for the brand users. The brand has therefore, long ago, straddled manufacturing uniqueness – and if the brand owner should ever change that, it is not inconceivable that some consumers would manufacture their own Harleys! Harley is a brand for “conforming non-conformists”. It would be fair to say the brand long ago stopped being “owned” by its owner!

While Harley is an exceptional brand in the number of layers it has created, many other brands have some layers so they at least started on the journey of authenticity. Here are examples:

From its advertising and its colours to the way passengers are treated on board and what the on-board amenities look like, Virgin Atlantic enables a unique customer experience; so different that it is conceivable that certain passengers will be uncomfortable with the brand.

Many of the strongest brands have become iconic, having created unique associations over the years, like Zippo (with its utility “look” and functioning), Timberland (with its particular degree of “ruggedness”), Muji (with its very authentic convergence of form and function), Cartier (with a particular design legacy and integrity of craftsmanship, with a unique red and gold colour combination), The New Yorker (with painted front covers, a different format, a unique cartoon and pictorial style, a particular editorial slant) and Google (being a very friendly, simple, less-serious brand that engages the consumer with topical adaptations to its logo). Armani clothes and furniture share a unique signature: you can see where they come from. Phillipe Starke products challenge you, tease you, are in your face and use hyperbole.

Bang & Olufsen and Bose are designed very differently from other sound and music systems. They look different and even work differently (B&O with active speakers and Bose with its unique small size of speaker technology).

Walking into an Apple store is different from walking into a normal computer store. Staying at an Aman Resort is very different from any other luxury resort brand.

Iconic characters in brands like Jack Daniels and Peter Stuyvesant.

A Leica camera does not look like any other camera.

In advertising, brands have had particular styles that came to define their uniqueness: the exacting expectations and standards of those who wear Rolex watches, the cartoon style and irreverence of Red

Bull, the graphic style of The Economist, the attitude of Nando’s, the attitude of Virgin Atlantic, the walking man for Johnny Walker.

In an entirely different way: the design of the Absolut Vodka bottle, the unique design of the Coca-Cola bottle, the shape of the Toblerone chocolate bar, Lindt chocolate being thin and square, the unique operating system of the Research in Motion Blackberry.

Authenticity can be in many places; it is important to know what it is. A truly authentic brand value appeals very deeply to human emotions – hence its inherent “truth” that transcends even the industry it is in.

An authentic brand stems from an authentic culture, enabling the brand to perpetuate itself generation after generation. The collective consciousness of a company becomes like the DNA that can replicate the same brand, in exactly the same way, over and over again. This is why it is so important for new staff to be inducted into the culture of an organisation. But to do that, one has to be clear on what this authenticity is!

And authentic brands have many layers of meaning.

What is expected of the category?

There are some values that are inherently required in brands, even if they do not differentiate.

In most categories, brands need to adhere to certain key requirements. Today, a car needs to be safe to be considered an option. Today, specifications that come standard in even small cars are very different from ten years ago. Airlines need to adhere to an acceptable level of safety and regular flight schedules to be considered.

These aspects are termed “category values” – they do not differentiate, but they are the “ticket to the match”. Without them, you cannot compete effectively in a given industry. Even if you do not own such facilities (many brands outsource manufacturing capabilities), you can still design and supply your brand in a seamless manner.

Generic brands are brands that dominate a given industry by having the largest numbers of customers; they generally “own” the generic attributes and benefits of the industry they are in. This means that when questioned, most consumers will associate the industry benefits with a given brand. If a brand is the market leader, this is appropriate. Even if a brand is challenging the market leader (which means it is associated at a slightly lower level), it is often highly associated with given attributes.

In most industries, category values are used widely to feature usage, like showing flowing hair in shampoo commercials, or driving performance in car commercials, or food or seats in airline commercials, or mobile phones in telecommunications commercials. Generally, such category values are not

able to differentiate one brand from another. The only legitimate use they have is when a new market is being educated or a given brand is the leader within its industry.

What can be adapted and changed to remain relevant to new generations of consumers?

Any brand needs to adapt to current generations, fashions, ideas and market changes to retain its appeal and not become outdated.

The changes may be simple, such as a brand adapting to fashion trends, using new music or models or using new fashion accessories or even new buildings or props. These elements enable the brand to retain its place amidst the changes its consumers are exposed to every day. Without these changes, the brand will soon look outdated. Often this is also reflected in modernising a brand identity which changes with the environment. Greater environmental consciousness is impacting on brands in the same way; no brand can fully ignore it - even if not all exploit it in the same way.

The other change that takes place is in consumer needs, wants and perceptions. For a brand to remain in contact with its customer needs is endemic to its success. What is important, though, is that a brand knows how far it can stretch itself before it loses its current franchise by trying to adapt to all new trends out there. Despite changes and a very different consumer society today, McDonalds still sells hamburgers; KFC still sells fried chicken, even if it changed the name to KFC partly to escape its “deep fried” history which is less popular in today’s healthy-eating universe. A brand needs to know its limits.

Strongly authentic brands engage with their customers ongoing: they talk to enthusiasts, they ask for comment. Instead of just having a blog for the brand, they actively seek out - and implement - suggestions.

To conclude

Authenticity matters with so many brands competing for the same consumer. The key is to find such authenticity and once you have it, retaining it.

To effectively manage your brand, know what makes it authentic. Leverage and retain this core value within customers most like the ones you already have.

Understand and leverage the layers of authenticity, gradually deepening the appeal of the brand. That is a key challenge for a brand – but it can only start on this journey if the core is real and understood.

Know what to change to adapt to market change, but also know the limits. Be sure to adapt, though, as a dated brand will fast lose its franchise.