In today’s hyper-saturated marketing landscape, you may feel as though you’re attending an overcrowded, electronic dance music rave that has a – less than fun and carefree vibe – and more of a growing annoyance for what should be an energizing party. If that description alone overwhelmed you, we marketing professionals feel the same way. Luckily, we will guide you through how to cut through the marketing noise and enjoy the music.
Authentic branding isn’t about curating a flawless image. It’s about showing up with transparency, consistency, and a clear sense of your brand personality and purpose.
Ads everywhere. Influencer overload. AI-generated content. It’s flooding our feeds – often wrapped in the same tired buzzwords. Rather than engaging, it’s loud, relentless, and easy to tune out.
In a world where everyone is trying to be seen, the brands that truly connect are the ones that choose to be real. Authenticity isn’t just refreshing—it’s essential and strategic to earning trust and building lasting brand loyalty.
What is authentic branding?
At its core, it means communicating in a way that’s true to your values, even when it’s not the easiest or most polished route. Or, out of fear of making everybody happy.
There’s a big difference between brands that act authentic for attention and those that are truly authentic. Performative authenticity may mimic the language and tone of being genuine, but it often lacks substance, and it’s easy to identify as fake. True authenticity, on the other hand, is rooted in meaningful action, integrity, and a long-term commitment to building trust.
Authentic branding: Core elements
Don’t know where to start?
First, clarify your purpose by asking, “Why does your brand exist beyond making money”? For Resolute, it’s to cultivate a brand partnership and position our clients as game changers. Doesn’t that sound more exciting than blandly stating “we deliver PR and marketing strategies”? And yes, we’ll call ourselves out. We used to say that! And, quite frankly, we got bored of it.
Second, ensure you use a consistent voice across all platforms. This helps build trust and reinforce brand identity. When your tone of voice shifts from platform to platform, it feels like a random mix of disconnected messages. Instead, a singular voice helps your audience feel like they’re hearing from a real, reliable person. Imagine this concept as emotions: chaos versus safety. If nothing is consistent with a brand, you feel confused, you question their legitimacy and so on. Chaos. If messaging, tone, visuals and experience is consistent, you feel safe and more likely to engage with the organization.
Next, embrace transparent communication. Own your mistakes! Accountability reigns supreme. Admitting fault and clearly explaining a path forward to improve or correct mistakes earns more respect than you may think. Did you send a customer email with incorrect information? Own it! Immediately send a follow-up with a simple message, “Oops, our bad! We must have forgotten our coffee this morning. Now that are brains are charged, here’s the correction information.”
You can even take customer or client criticism to improve your brand. For example, Poppi, a “healthy soda” brand, is going as far as changing the flavor profile after customers called the initial version “disgusting.” They took feedback and made a splash with a brand new unveiling – all fueled by customer complaints.
Lastly, and we can’t say it loud enough, focus on human-centric storytelling. Show real people in your creative, how you practice your values, journeys – not just product features. It you focus too much on your product, you become transactional. We are striving for more than that. Don’t be an asset – be the lifestyle!
And most importantly? Don’t be afraid to be FUN. Gasp, did we say fun? Audiences are tired of stuffy branding. Be relatable, be fun and be conversational. For those who’ve read my blogs before (anyone, Bueller?), you know I love a good national parks social media post.
Check out this “If National Parks roasted tourists, Part 2” post on Instagram from national parks guru and travel blogger @kendratustinadventures. We’re not suggesting you roast your customers and upset them per say, but the point is, they are having fun and conveying a message at the same time.
Avoid authenticity blunders
- Performative authenticity: Claiming authenticity without substance—such as opportunistically supporting social causes without genuine alignment or action—can damage trust rather than build it.
- Over-curating content: Polishing or over-sanitizing messages to the point they feel manufactured or insincere dilutes credibility and relatability.
- Misaligned culture and messaging: When a brand’s internal culture doesn’t reflect its outward promises or values, audiences quickly detect the disconnect, undermining trust and loyalty.
In the pursuit of authentic branding, there’s also a dark side. Businesses unintentionally fall into common traps that can undermine trust rather than build it – and cause a lot of extra work backpedaling if they occur.
One of the biggest blunders is performative authenticity—when brands jump on social causes or trending values without meaningful action or alignment. Audiences are quick to spot these hollow gestures, which can damage credibility.
Another pitfall is over-curating or sanitizing content to the point where it feels too polished, losing the natural, human touch that today’s consumers crave.
Cut through the noise – don’t add to it
The perception of The North Face as an inauthentic brand stems from controversial marketing campaigns, shifts in brand identity, and questions about the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
A notable example is a past Wikipedia campaign that was viewed as manipulative and duplicitous. Yes, we said Wikipedia…red flags already.
In 2019, The North Face was criticized for a campaign that involved editing Wikipedia pages with promotional images and text, which was deemed unethical and a violation of Wikipedia’s terms of use.
There have been discussions about the authenticity of some North Face products, with concerns raised about potential diversion of officially manufactured goods and the existence of fake North Face products in certain markets. These issues have contributed to a mixed and sometimes negative perception of the brand among some consumers.
Finally, a disconnect between a company’s internal culture and its external messaging can be just as harmful; when what a brand says doesn’t match what it truly stands for behind the scenes, even the most compelling campaigns will eventually ring false. True authenticity requires transparency, consistency and genuine alignment from the inside out.
A way you achieve this is to learn by doing, not by being something you aren’t! Let your brand be your brand. If you are working so hard to be a certain way, you are over-curating.
If you aren’t sure how to articulate your brand identity, personality, tone or how to translate your culture into content, well good thing you’re reading a Resolute blog. We can help!
