There is no recipe for originality or authenticity, but there are some pointers on how to find it.

Bill Breen's great article for Fast Company hits on a number of smart points that are worth further commentary.

The essence of authenticity, he claims, are in the following points:

• A sense of place
• A strong point of view
• Serving a larger purpose
• Integrity
  

There is a unifying theme here: an authentic brand is not a brand that manufactures something that you didn't have before and then sells it to you. Instead a brand is authentic because it encourages the creation of authentic moments in its customers, it is the backdrop for your authentic experiences. Apple doesn't give you authentic injection molded plastic music players, it gives you a music player you can enjoy your favorite music on, a backdrop to the authentic enjoyment you receive.

This final quote helps explain this further:

"Sometimes even the most homogenized of places can evoke a flicker of authenticity. The morning after last fall's congressional elections, the newly elected senator from New Jersey, Robert Menendez, breakfasted at his usual spot, the International House of Pancakes in Union City. Menendez, formerly mayor of Union City, sat in his regular booth, ordered the same breakfast he always orders, and spent an hour catching up with longtime friends.

Few restaurants are more prefab than IHOP, yet there Menendez was, paying homage to a staff that knew his breakfast by heart and to patrons who've watched his kids grow up. On the surface, the Union City franchise is hardly authentic--it's similar to the IHOP in, say, Muncie, Indiana. But the friendships that Menendez has made there are certainly genuine. It's not that Starbucks, Cold Stone Creamery, BMW, Nike, or any other brand is really, really real. What's real are the experiences and the connections that the brands allow us to make--if they give us an honest chance."

A quick look at some authenticity plays from fast company.

Labels: Apple, authenticity, Branding, IHOP, marketing