Trust is at the foundation of every healthy relationship, and authenticity is key to building and maintaining trust. The same rings true in the relationship between you and your customers. According to the American Marketing Association, a recent study revealed that 87% of consumers around the world said it was more valuable for companies to be authentic rather than innovate or deliver unique products. Clearly, developing authenticity is an important piece of the consumer loyalty puzzle.
So what exactly does it mean for a business to be authentic? New studies define authentic advertisement as one that is genuine, real, and true with regard to one or more executional dimensions. Below we will be discussing the four dimensions of authentic advertising and how to implement authenticity into your brand strategy.
PRESERVE BRAND ESSENCE
Your brand should be delivering consistent messages that honestly represent the company’s core values, as well as paint a true picture of the product or service. In doing so, your company will strengthen loyalty to the brand, increase brand recognition, and boost the sincerity of the brand’s message. One challenge to note here is that it might be difficult to capture and keep your customer’s attention. Honesty goes a long way, but it’s not always sexy. Avoid coming off as boring by highlighting characteristics that are true, yet unique to your brand. At JanMar Agency, one of our core values is to deliver strategic marketing plans to help businesses flourish. If we were to deliver this message plainly to our clients, it might seem dull. To break through the monotony, we communicate that JanMar Agency is not just a marketing firm - we provide unique experiences for our clients. Our message is honest and unusual: “We Are a Marketing, Design and Talent Agency that Thinks Differently”.
HONOR BRAND HERITAGE
Creating an ad that connects consumers to the history of your brand provides legitimacy. This is especially true for small businesses. Showing your customers the roots and tradition of your brand casts a shadow of reliability and competency, all while invoking feelings of nostalgia, increasing emotional connection and commitment. This can be achieved in a variety of ways. For example, on our website, JanMarAgency.com, we have a page which gives our clients some history of our agency, as well as a little background information on our team. Such a simple gesture establishes a connection with our clients and gives them a look into the roots of our business.
CREATE A REALISTIC PLOT
Because celebrity influencers have proven highly effective for big businesses, the efficacy of appointing everyday consumers to advertise can be debated. For smaller businesses, however, using ordinary people to speak on behalf of your brand and share real stories greatly enhances the perception of sincerity. Your customers will likely be able to relate to this person and will help them to identify product benefits. Similar to the first dimension we reviewed, this element can easily come off as seeming boring. Steer clear of this by provoking feelings of sympathy and empathy in order to provoke an emotional connection. At JanMar Agency, we love to share our client reviews. This helps prospective customers gain a better understanding of how we help businesses thrive, while making them feel more comfortable putting their trust in us.
PRESENT A CREDIBLE MESSAGE
Basically, delivering a credible message ties together all the other dimensions discussed above. This can be achieved by creating a message which stays true to the company’s core values and provides legitimacy and reliability, all while building a realistic plot. Your message should be genuine and consistent with your brand’s performance. Bring forward realistic and verifiable claims, and avoid exaggerated and deceptive claims. We at JanMar Agency under-promise and always over-deliver. Our team avoids puffery and distorted promises by speaking honestly to our clients. This allows us to maintain authenticity with our customers while delivering outstanding service.
Being honest and true in all areas of communication with your customers conveys authenticity and helps grow brand loyalty. It may seem obvious that consumers seek honesty from brands, but when you’re busy running a business such simple concepts can often times fall through the cracks. Authentic advertising is a subject which is fairly new to marketing and therefore has little research to back the concept. Generally speaking, authenticity does not directly boost sales. It does, however, create significant value for consumers, which can be translated into sales if executed properly. Overall, studies are showing that authentic advertising is an up-and-coming trend which marketers and creative directors should bring to the forefront.
Is your business struggling to deliver authentic and meaningful messages to your customers? Let JanMar Agency help! Our team of experienced designers and marketers can provide your business with all the necessary tools to help you thrive!