When authenticity fades in the wash

By Rachel Ray

Thanks to a 95 per cent employment rate, very few of us are forced to answer such an irksome and impossible question right now. But in 2022, you have to wonder, at a time when only volatility seems a certainty, how many of us actually could make that forecast?

Whether its pandemics, politics, environments or economies, the road ahead may seem more obscured than ever before and by extension, our own journey on it. Perhaps, a collective answer of sorts has already been given in the form of the so-called great resignation a few months ago – when workers quit in droves and the cost of talent rose significantly.

I don’t want to romanticise or oversimplify what is ultimately a complex phenomenon with both negative and positive catalysts and future outcomes. But it does seem like this so-called great resignation was more like a great recalibration – a collective attempt to figure out who the hell we are, what mattered most to us and what we’re going to do next to get there.

Perhaps that is why this classic HR question is so irritating to begin with for there’s a lot of hidden homework that comes before answering it.

After all, to visualise where you’ll be in five years, you first need to believe that that is something within your personal control. You also have to know what your values are, what your purpose is and only then, how you plan to achieve it.

That’s an awful lot to have sussed out on an individual level, before even considering the collective one.

So it is understandable, in a way, why many businesses haven’t followed suit on this recent personal journey and why marketing teams aren’t dragging out the old manifestos and re-questioning brand purpose.

The unfortunate news is that they should, and rather urgently. Because there are some seriously rapid and drastic shifts in both consumer behaviour and sentiment.

Despite this, alignment on what the purpose is for businesses, seems to have taken a back seat in lieu of smarter media tactics and stumbling after new formats and trends like dads at a disco.

A common question many marketers ask these days is, “What are we doing about [insert new-ish trend here]?” rather than addressing why these changes in behaviours, consumption and attitudes are happening among people in first place.

Simply put, in the busy 2022 landscape, it is easy to mistake imitation of the consumer as a shortcut to alignment with them, but it they really aren’t the same thing at all.

Imitation is just the marketing equivalent of joining a queue full of people, without actually knowing what the hell it that you’re queuing up for.

Unless you know the whys behind your audience’s behaviour, just following the what is not only a total waste of money, but can also be downright damaging

And the truth is that unless you know the whys behind your audience’s behaviour – whether we are talking about the adoption of new media formats like TikTok, podcasts, or gaming, important movements like Pride, Black Lives Matter and sustainability or trends such as bitcoin, designer mashups and non-fungible tokens – just following the what is not only a total waste of money, but can also be downright damaging.

In fact, this trend towards imitation without relation can lead you to committing the ultimate sin of modern marketing – being downright inauthentic.

If living values and acting with purpose creates authenticity, then imitation without cause must mean something quite the opposite.

Enter, the new marketing term for your consideration.

Brandwagoning (noun) 1.The action of jumping on the marketing bandwagon of something because all the other major brands are at it, without a thought as to how it aligns with your business strategy, history, customer or company’s values in an authentic way or gives any originality in approach.

2. The dark art of prioritising making an important political or social movement profitable to your business over driving any actual positive impact

3. Leveraging pop culture memes and moments to make a brand seem with-it and appear in social timelines, with zero understanding of the culture or context.

While the phrase brandwagon was first coined by expert in brand strategy and culture Prof Jonathan AJ Wilson in 2020, in volume 36 of the Journal of Marketing Management, the offence itself is nothing new.

Brands have been at it long before Kendall Jenner first offered an armed police officer a peace-loving Pepsi, while protesting the rights of extremely good-looking people in the infamous and quickly shelved ad of 2017 (if you don’t know it, look it up, for an instant understanding of just what brandwagoning means).

However, there has been a notable increase in backlash levels recently, under the eye of the quick-witted late-stage capitalist consumer.

These appear in many guises, such as pink-washing, rainbow-washing and green-washing online, along with the just general callouts of brands not living these much trumpeted values. Many instances of brandwagoning are achieving social media meme level status by Gen Zs and millennials alike.

Being called out for inauthentic brandwagoning is a serious threat and should be given serious consideration by any brand or business

Being called out for inauthentic brandwagoning is a serious threat and should be given serious consideration by any brand or business looking to succeed over the next few years.

To quote Prof Wilson: “Branding is demanding mad understanding, when you have to cope with being 24/7 on trend woke it’s no joke – zipping up your backlash raincoat and getting down with authentically scripted stand-up toting TikTok comeback jokes. Toast a spicy rich roast blend of money-making, sexy activism, sustainability, sincerity and congeniality. Brand land could do with a moment of clarity.”

So, before your marketing department jumps on the next cool thing since sliced bread, simply ask yourself, “Eh… why?”

Does it make sense for your audience? If so, why? What is it they are looking for? Not some marketing-bingo like “Well, busy moms are looking for fast moving consumer goods [FMCG] brands to empower her with convenient healthy midday snack choices to keep her kids happy.” But, rather, the genuine, actual reason something is useful, informative or just downright entertaining for your audience.

Does this fit with your brand values and tone of voice, or is it just an expensive, white-noise, detour?

Does it make sense for your brand purpose? And if so why? And if that’s not clear, does your brand purpose even make sense anymore?

Or is now time to step back and ask the dreaded question, “Well, where do we see ourselves in five years?”

For more discussion on this topic as well as a few laughs and some practical advice, check out this week’s podcast, where we discuss authenticity, culture and marketing with Prof Wilson.