Brand Authenticity Concept

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1. Introduction Certain concepts are important when designing and developing a personal brand. This essay will discuss and apply the concepts of brand authenticity and brand innovation to developing a personal brand the essay will therefore also look at how design thinking can be applied to developing a personal brand. A brand behaves in a certain way to its customers and that behaviour which attracts the customer, ends up defining the brand. A brand that is “what it says it is” and “does what is says it does”, “Through unearthing the true you and consistently and constantly living your personal brand, you attract what you need to achieve your goals without having to ‘wrestle with the universe’ to acquire it” (Aruda 2009). (1) Concepts and…show more content…
The concept of authenticity is derived from the Latin word authenticus and the Greek word authentikos conveying the sense trustworthiness (Cappannelli and Cappannelli 2004, 1) Brand authenticity, simply put is being honest; being honest in your approach, being honest in your delivery and performance, being honest in your values and simply being honest to yourself. By adding transparency and integrity, brands have the winning formula to today’s competitive “age of authenticity” target market. Brand authenticity is the things that just happen. Some of these things can be the image/reputation of the brand, the culture of the brand and the word of mouth marketing that consumers engage in after experiencing your brand. Turner and Manning (1988) state that the desire for authenticity is especially strong in times of change and uncertainty, when individuals search for something to rely on that offers them continuity. On the other hand, the need for authenticity is often also seen as a consequence of the increasing homogenisation of the marketplace. With the increased homogenisation and over saturation of markets, brand innovation becomes a key player in keeping already existing customers and attracting new consumers. Brand innovation will be further discussed in 2.2. Consumers are looking for a brand that will meet them at the exact place they are at, meaning that consumers are…show more content…
Nedergaard and Gyrd-Jones (2013) created a model called Sustainable Brand-Based Innovation (SBBI). The SBBI conceptual model consists of three key imperatives Think Brand! Think Human! And Think Resourceful! These imperatives and the model itself relate to the growing envisioning of brand as a strategic resource. • Think Brand! Ensures that innovations are ‘on brand’ in that they not only align but also strengthen the brand. Brand vision is used to stimulate new ways of thinking about what is possible. Think brand encourages the firm to consider what is possible in relation to the universe of the corporate brand: its personality, position, value, culture and vision (Urde, 1999; Ind and Watt, 2006; Urde et al,

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