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Building Brand Authenticity
Book

Building Brand Authenticity

7 Habits of Iconic Brands

Michael Beverland
Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Authenticity, by its very nature, can’t be faked – at least not for long. Consumers know intuitively when something is authentic, regardless of what marketers say. People yearn to feel enthusiastic about the products they buy. They seek brands that make them feel validated, understood and connected, and when they find them, they demonstrate their loyalty. Yet these brand-devoted consumers are quick to blog, tweet or text when a product doesn’t meet their expectations for authenticity and quality. Branding expert Michael B. Beverland identifies “seven habits” of authentic brands, including passion for excellence, devotion to a craft, and respect for heritage, tradition and place. His use of marketing war stories will intrigue any marketer and many consumers. This book's long, unbroken paragraphs make it challenging to read, but if you stick with it, you’ll find smart, knowledgeable – and authentic – branding advice.

Summary

The public loves authentic brands in a way that belies popular branding advice.

Why would people love a cigarette lighter so much that they’d join the Zippo Click Club? Perhaps it’s for the same reason that thousands visit the Zippo Visitors Center in Pennsylvania every year. The Zippo is a dependable lighter in any weather. If yours breaks, the company’s technicians will fix it for free and will try to determine why it broke. Zippo lighters have been a staple for U.S. troops since World War II, and they’re a familiar flicker in a soldier’s hands in numerous war movies. People’s devotion to Zippo springs from the sort of feelings that impel fans to collect vintage Altoids mint tins or display their Dyson vacuum cleaners in their living rooms. Zippo is an authentic brand with a loyal fan base – beloved in a way that defies popular marketing advice.

Traditional marketers attempt to control the consumer’s image of a brand, yet customers always have had a say in brand image, and their influence is growing.

Snapple, a juice drink, began as an authentic brand. Then Quaker Oats bought the line for $1.7 billion, and applied a tried-and-true marketing approach based...

About the Author

Michael B. Beverland, a professor of marketing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, is a brand marketing researcher, writer and speaker.

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