In Search of Brand Authenticity

Tim HarrapHead of Collaboration

Lye Cross Farm

Who Am I Truly & Deeply?There’s so much subtlety to the art of brand building, so many layers of expression to understand and master. Yet perhaps the most important thing is one that most brands fail to grasp; truly knowing and understanding who they are – the values that underpin their behaviors, the personality that drives their expression, and the voice that drives their communication.David AnsettCreator of Brands

“Markets are conversations” the cluetrain manifesto

• Story telling• Artisanal Amateurs• Sticking to your roots• Loving the doing• Market immersion• Being at one with the community• Indoctrinating staff into the brand culture

(1) Story Telling

• Brands as collections of stories• Traditional approach – brand rule book• Idiosyncratic – Dorset Cereals in Jamaica• Ten Stories -

Ten Stories

1. Founding myth2. Family3. Conflict struggle4. Triumph/Tragedy5. Creation

6. History7. Community8. Place9. Consumers10. Product Service

(2) Artisanal amateurs

• Amateurs – engaged personal passion• Artisans – skilled craftspeople / small batches • Appearances – downplaying industry

• Perceptions of sincerity

• Providing rich history- • reflecting humanity

• & yet, • setting standards of industry DC packs

(3) Sticking to your roots

• Stylistic consistency – evolving slowly• Retaining key traditions – PDO• New initiatives – founding spirit (IB)• Moral Messages – Pilgrims• Revitalisation – recommit to roots– buyouts DC• Supportive Communication• Focal Activities – Farmers/farming

(4) Loving the doing

• Production focused• Experiencing production – LXF, grading• Leaders involved in production• Espouse love of craft• Quest for excellence – DC over engineered• Being design led – DC revamp

(5)a Market immersion

• Tom Peters – focus groups produce products “of” the market – shelves full of “me-too”

• Inspiration not necessarily from your current customers – reinterpretations e.g. Korea

(5)b Market immersion• Employ your customers – qualitative input• Live in the market – Arnault LVMH visit the market• Trust your gut – Roddick “don’t work within systems”• Employees to dabble• Seed the fanbase

“Authenticity has always been derived from the intuition of the artist” Beverland p139

(6) Being at one with the community“Notion of putting down roots central to our identity” Beverland p143• Time / Place / Culture• Nation – Scotland!• Region – Wyke Somerset• Industry – Heritage and Quality• Culture – Starbucks Australia stripped of cultural heritage• Sub-culture of consumption – Star-trek LX or LXF

“customers and consumers communicate “an idea of what your brand signifies” McKitterick p87

(7) Indoctrinating staff!• Staff selection• Welfare > salary• Tell their stories – Yammer• Manage non-performance• Staff as stewards of the brand• Transmitting tacit knowledge to new staff

• Encourage creativity• risk taking, free thinking, encourage curiosity

Democracy

Modernity – Post ModernityMaterialism – Post Materialism

Media - Social Media

“Increasing consumer power, accelerated by the meteoric rise of

social media, threatens the foundations of branding” Mitchell

2012

“…modernization is a process of human development, in which economic development gives rise to cultural

changes that make individual autonomy, gender equality and democracy

increasingly likely.”Inglehart & Welzel

The Zero Marginal Cost SocietyThe internet of things, the

collaborative commons, and the eclipse of capitalism

Contact points

Twitter

• tim_harrap

• BritishCheese

• LyeCrossFarm

Useful links

• Alvis Family, Lye Cross Farm• Michael Beverland, University of Bath• Truly Deeply Melbourne• Kinship Digital Australia• Shift Podcasts by Euan Semple & Megan Murray• Harold Jarche Making sense of the networked era• Only Dead Fish Neil Perkin

Reading• Authenticity – Pine & Gilmour• Building Brand Authenticity – Beverland• The Cluetrain Manifesto – Levine et al • Humanize – Notter & Grant• McKitterick’s Conundrum Mitchell • Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy

Inglehart & Welzel• Monocle magazine and The Entrepreneurs podcasts• Organizations Don’t Tweet People Do – Semple• The Zero Marginal Cost Society - Rifkin

Thank you