[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/25\/authenticity-in-brand-messaging\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/25\/authenticity-in-brand-messaging\/","headline":"Disruption! AI! GDPR! In all the excitement, one thing brands can\u2019t afford to forget","name":"Disruption! AI! GDPR! In all the excitement, one thing brands can\u2019t afford to forget","description":"Most brands are experimenting with new ways to engage audiences, and authenticity must permeate each interaction. If not, your credibility will drain away.","datePublished":"2018-01-25","dateModified":"2021-09-08","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jack-dyson\/#Person","name":"Jack Dyson","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jack-dyson\/","identifier":152,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d3b4b398e8aea3b7b406b7f646a735eb4ec2827c327fa6570e9ce500329a73a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d3b4b398e8aea3b7b406b7f646a735eb4ec2827c327fa6570e9ce500329a73a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/thumbnail-801118df16a110abe1309669acad3d10.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/thumbnail-801118df16a110abe1309669acad3d10.png","height":375,"width":1196},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/25\/authenticity-in-brand-messaging\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo","name":"Wrigley's gum 'bus journey' advert 1990","description":"Classic advert for Wrigley's gum from around 1990.","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/-M3AjO1F-vo\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/-M3AjO1F-vo\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/-M3AjO1F-vo\/hqdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2008-02-25T12:15:13+00:00","duration":"PT1M1S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-M3AjO1F-vo","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCQJgdLKhSVWCWBuh9ZRiOWA#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCQJgdLKhSVWCWBuh9ZRiOWA","name":"atariman1988","description":"Home to old TV adverts, idents, outtakes\/goofs, 'before they were famous' clips, and archive TV programmes.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_muJL9pMjgtgQkZG59mJiBKiOKiXT7y38qvRZHYo1vzMA=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":177135}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-M3AjO1F-vo#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":577}]},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/cdp-customer-data-platform-solution\/data-privacy\/","name":"Data Privacy: Laws, Consumer Expectations","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Consumer_privacy"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/","name":"Purpose","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purpose"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/thought-leadership\/","name":"Thought Leadership","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thought_leader"]}],"wordCount":715,"keywords":["Customer Engagement","Marketing","Thought Leadership"],"articleBody":"Disruption.AI.GDPR.Digital transformation.In all the excitement, there\u2019s the one big thing that brands can\u2019t afford to forget: Authenticity.Consumer trust: A critical assetThe world is full of headlines. Big, oxygen-grabbing topics demand our attention. Whether audience or reader, writer or speaker, it\u2019s hard not to relish the drama in terms such as disruption, revolution and innovation, or to be tempted by a list of a gazillion reasons why robots are coming for YOUR job and how blockchain will explode the global economy.They paint vivid \u2013 and very important \u2013 pictures of topics that we would be foolish to ignore. However, spend too much time on the big international news and you can lose sight of some important local issues. These might seem insignificant, but let them run and they will affect you much more quickly than the headline event. The most important of these? Authenticity.Today, many brands are busy experimenting with new ways of engaging with their audiences. The race to be agile and transform is fast-moving, but it\u2019s no sprint. It takes energy. Lots of it, as you examine and re-examine the ways you engage and convert, segment and dissect, migrating to new models and processes as well as platforms and landscapes. The pressure \u2013 and competition \u2013 is intense.Doing this sort of work is distracting, and adds an extra layer of complexity. When listening to companies talk about their issues in this brave new world, the one challenge that stands out is finding a signal in the noise, being notable and remarkable for the right reasons \u2013 a partner, companion, and trusted advisor to your customer.It\u2019s not enough to be where your potential customers are, or even to know where they\u2019re going to be. You have to talk their language. In fact, to do so credibly, you have to make sure that your language is their language, or is something they aspire to.Not just a product: Consumers buy a company, not just services or goodsHere\u2019s a question. It\u2019s not a particularly elegant one, but it is important: What sort of a purchase do you (or rather, your brand) represent? As in, if you were a single commodity or item, what sort of thing would it be? A luxury item, a daily essential, a cheap-and-cheerful fix, a complex solution, a monthly subscription?Now, when you buy that thing yourself, how do you feel? What\u2019s going through your head \u2013 and what sort of place would you feel most comfortable buying it from?When you make buy something in your daily life, even if it\u2019s just a pack of chewing gum, there\u2019s a moment of consideration. It might just be to say: \u201cI need this\u201d, but it\u2019s just as likely to include feelings like desire (\u201cOoh delicious Juicy Fruit will cheer me up\u201d) as it is resignment (\u201cExtra mint. I ate too many pickled onions\u201d). So even in that split second at the shop counter you\u2019re parsing information, you\u2019re re-running old Wrigley\u2019s adverts through your subconscious and summoning up which one feels\u2026right.Bigger ticket items and services might take longer to choose, but there\u2019s still emotion in that choice. It\u2019s just as important that the customer feels listened to, like they\u2019re in the right place and that this is the right decision. That\u2019s the caveat for preparing to change. Yes, by all means talk to your customers by Snapchat or Instagram, or highly-targeted SMS via a network of low energy Bluetooth beacons. But don\u2019t forget where you\u2019re from. Don\u2019t forget your voice.Having easy, natural conversation is way more useful in persuasion than listing the benefits. That\u2019s why there\u2019s a market for personal trainers. Trusted companions on a journey to a goal, they accompany you without (hopefully) being a full yoga bore.And your manner, your style, and personality – these need to permeate every single interaction. The moment you screw that up, your credibility will start to drain away. Authenticity might feel like something you\u2019ve already fixed, but ignore it at your peril. You need to keep living and breathing it to keep on top.  Build trust.Win loyalty.Grow your business.It starts HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2018","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"25","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/01\/\/25\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Disruption! AI! GDPR! In all the excitement, one thing brands can\u2019t afford to forget","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/01\/25\/authenticity-in-brand-messaging\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]