Authenticity

I've been pulled into a pitch, which is eating up all my spare time and thought. [I wanted to talk about meeting up with Russell and Paul last week - was very pleasant and started me thinking about when the internet and reality intersect - I'll post something once I've had a chance to work out what I was thinking.]

Anyway, on this pitch a lot of people keep talking about authenticty. Consumers are crying out for brands to be authentic and that.

What does that mean?

There seems to be a sense that authenticity is about real life, grass roots, non-commercial stuff. But how can a brand be non-commercial?

This guy David Boyle seems to know. Has anyone read his book Authenticity: Brands, Fakes, Spin, and the Lust for Real Life? I've not had the chance but he claims to look at how real reality is....

I think that being authentic as a brand is really simple. Stand for something, establish a consistent mode of behaviour and then express it through everything you do, communications and commerce.

It's when you say one thing and do another that you stop being authentic.

PS. When you try to fake a grass roots movement, it's called astroturfing. Brilliant.