Prediction 1: Authenticity is the Key

Companies not acting in an authentic and honest way will be subject to the wrath of the newfound consumer voice.

The buzzword for 2007 will be authenticity and it will become a driving force for businesses. Witness what's happened with all of the flogs of Sony, Wal-Mart, McDonald's and I'm sure many others. Or look at what happens in the blogsphere when companies don't deliver on their promises. Heck, just take a look at some of the posts on our blog about my personal experiences in this area. Companies will be held more accountable then ever before, now that information can travel the world in a matter of seconds.

After posting this prediction on the Experience Design group at Yahoo, Joe Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage had this to say:

Our view is that in the Experience Economy authenticity is becoming the new consumer sensibility -- the buying criteria by which people choose what to buy and who to buy from. Increasingly, they no longer accept the fake from the phony but want the real from the genuine. Therefore, businesses must render their offerings to be perceived as authentic.

Of course, trying to define authenticity becomes somewhat tricky (like the conversations about defining engagement) and Max Lenderman from GMR pointed out that he had a hard time explaining it without getting overly philosophical or maudlin. Many people replied in a similar fashion, suggesting that none of us really know what makes an authentic brand these days. So, while thinking about it on the train in this morning, I had a thought. A simple definition written several hundred years ago by one of the world's most prolific playwrites, William Shakespeare:

To thine own self be true.

So, we'll give you authenticity credit -- even if we don't like what you're doing -- as long as you remain true to yourself and your story. Of course, that mean's knowing who you are and what your story is, but that's for another newsletter!

Comments

[David Carlson]

I think there is a difficult contradiction for a company between being a nice and credible "friend" and running a profitable business. Is it at all possible to combine the two? Probably. Most important is to give respect. Too many companies seems to forget such a simple and fundamental thing.