Is global authenticity achievable?

What makes a good brand? Some people say that brands need to be founder-led, others that they should be value- or purpose-led. 

But does any of this really matter if your founder, value and purpose are not authentic? 

Advertising fads come and go, but how you present yourself as a brand must remain constant.

Advertising fads come and go, but how you present yourself as a brand must remain constant to build loyalty and trust with consumers. This is becoming more challenging with the rise of new digital channels used to connect companies with consumers. These channels create opportunities to reach people spread out across the world, but translating your brand across languages and cultures in an authentic way is no easy feat.

Above: Pepsi's Kendall Jenner-starring ad from 2017 was pilloried for it's lack of authenticity.

The insincerity impact

Consumers hate insincerity. Just consider the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad from 2017. The rationale behind the spot may have been sincere, but it made light of important social issues and, as a result, consumers were turned off. Brands need to ask themselves the 'why' behind advertising and marketing campaigns to ensure they’re maintaining authenticity.

Brands need to ask themselves the 'why' behind advertising and marketing campaigns to ensure they’re maintaining authenticity.

In some cases, insincerity can come in the form of overpromises. A customer sued Red Bull for $13 million for false advertising claims in regards to its slogan, 'Red Bull gives you wings'. The company had to rework its messaging to make sure it was factual and translated well across cultures. Red Bull protected the authenticity of its messaging by associating itself with high intensity, adrenaline-rush-inducing events around the world – “stuff that makes your heart rate spike.”

The Ronseal effect

There’s a certain beauty to a brand doing exactly what it says on the tin. The fragrance brand Lush has amassed a huge consumer following for its active stance against shark-finning, animal testing, fox-hunting, and other animal endangerment causes. But Lush doesn’t just promote these messages externally. The brand only uses ethical ingredients and production methods when making its products, maintaining its stance toward ending animal cruelty throughout its entire global operations. 

Mission-oriented brands are not new. Patagonia has actively stood up for environmental and social issues important to the brand since its inception. Even when faced with complaints over some of the causes it supports, the company didn’t back down from its stance. Practising what you preach – whether that’s online, in-store, across social or Out Of Home – is essential as a brand. But how can brands maintain its authentic reputation among its entire consumer base as the number of channels, languages and locations increases?

Above: Patagonia's messaging, including the above short documentary film about salmon farming, often involves environmental issues, true to the brand's ethos.

Into a new dimension

To add to an already complex commerce ecosystem, brands will soon need to manage their presence in a whole new dimension: the metaverse. The metaverse will be a new virtual world with fertile ground for innovation, but it will also present challenges, such as ensuring brand and consumer safety. Some of the challenges around advert placements can be mitigated by using modern adtech solutions that use AI and image recognition, for example, to place ads in front of relevant and suitable imagery. 

However, with limitless options of how to present a brand in the metaverse, one thing is certain - you must ensure these new experiences and interactions remain authentic. Making sure your message is 'on brand' in a completely new world is complex and hard to do at-scale and at-speed, especially when relying on outdated processes. 

With limitless options of how to present a brand in the metaverse, one thing is certain - you must ensure these new experiences and interactions remain authentic. 

One key factor to remaining authentic in the physical, digital, and virtual world is to ensure you have complete control over your product messaging. Imagine making manual changes to descriptions for a global brand with thousands of products. Considering words have different meanings across regions – 'pants' in the UK means something completely different in the US – this can be extremely time consuming and leaves room for error. Thankfully, technology has evolved to be able to accurately and automatically make these changes for brands and retailers. That means whether it’s a Facebook ad in the US, a print ad in Mexico, a billboard ad in London, or any of the above in the metaverse - your consumers are receiving an accurate, tailored message.