Authenticity in Advertising?

Authenticity.

It is a word that has been thrown a lot lately because, in this day and age of carefully curated profiles, it's rare for any brand (or people) to showcase full honesty.

This is why a lot of companies who position themselves as ambassadors of radical transparency and ethical business often succeed - because if you are a company that cares, your customer will respect you, even if it means paying a little more.

That's why I love working with passionate startups and up and coming brands. Most of the time, I speak with business owners who have dedicated years in creating a product that they are truly proud of. On the other hand you have big conglomerates that usually produce products that can help expand their sales revenue - not that there's anything wrong with their products, but, the passion behind the R&D is of different levels. Usually, the caring proposition of big name brands are after-thoughts of creative folks who are paid to put a heart in their brand (yup, been there, done that!)

I guess as a mom and entrepreneur myself, my ideal is working with brands that actually care. I've spent more than a decade in the advertising business often questioning why I do what I do. To sell more soap? To sell more toothpaste? I won't be the first in the industry to question my own sense of worth when it came to my professional life.

Now that I am doing my own thing, I have the power to carefully select and pitch for brands and companies that I honestly would be proud of working with. It makes my work more authentic since I don't have to come up with catchy jargons to make a sale - I only use propositions that business owners tell me that their brand can deliver and most of the time, they are real benefits that work 100% of the time (this is what passion for product development does!)

In the end, once the product gains brand equity and positive word-of-mouth from customers who have tried and loved the brand, it will sell for itself and to advertise it will become secondary, if only because you need to create greater awareness for the awesome brand.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. The magic is in the product, not the advertising. Yes, advertising will get people to test the item but what will make them want to come back for more (and advocate your product to others!) is how well it performs.

Case and point is a thread from an Instagram ad of a newly launched brand that I've been working with. With new brands, people are naturally skeptical, especially when they have to pay over $200 for it. We're glad there are early adopters out there who are willing to try!

It's only been a little over a month and people are beginning to laud it for its authenticity.
 

The last message was from a happy customer.

And, that, my friend is how you build a brand - based on authenticity and passion.