Be True to Yourself
● Identity
Identity is what makes you, you.
Identity is about making distinctions between each other, we know of no people without
names, languages or cultures in which there weren’t some manners of distinction between
self and other.
◦ What can change identity?:
- External environment (Events, experiences, people, school, friends etc.)
- Time (Age, natural development)
The desire of being an individual, of creating a personal history or giving meaning to
experiences is a project. The combination of two affirmations construct identity, those of
people against communities and that of people against the market.
◦ What is the difference between individual identity and those of organizations?
- The identity of organisations is constructed trough the minds of the consumers and
trough looking at what the competition is offering as identities as to differ themselves
from other organisations.
● Difference between brand identity and brand image
- Identity
This is the company view on themselves, a company could think that they offer great
products for a great price and that everyone should love them.
- Image
This is the public view on the company. This could differ greatly from the view the
company has on themselves. The public could think that the company sells bad products
and they don’t have anything good going on for them.
It is important for companies to be open to the opinion of the consumers, as they decide to
buy their products.
● What is authenticity?
Authenticity is being 100% real, when a brand has embraced authenticity and transparency,
consumers will do the marketing for them. Authenticity for companies means being as
relatable as possible for the regular consumers. In this the consumer will think that the
company is being true to reality and isn’t lying and will find themselves more in touch with
the brand.
, The official definition of authenticity is: ‘’Authenticity is to extend the sould or essence in
every activity the company does.’’ And ‘’Authenticity is real and honest, instead of artificial
and superficial.’’
● Authenticity Paradox
The authenticity paradox co-exists with authenticity, the very idea of making something
authentic is a paradox, because how can something be authentic if it is meant to be
authentic? The very idea of authenticity created the idea of in-authentic at the same time
Someone who longs to be authentic, cannot be authentic, because the awareness of the
longing also brings the awareness of being authentic.
For instance, reality shows are set up as to be authentic as possible in advance and are
managed to be so. While the candidates are selected for being as real as possible. So the
authenticity is actually staged and not natural. Most people know this to be staged, however
this knowledge doesn’t always take away to tendency to consider these shows as authentic.
Authenticity isn’t always something positive, we usually think of very deep and sincere
feelings as authentic, but someone can also have very deep and sincere feelings of jealousy
and greed. These emotions aren’t regarded as positive. In moments of high emotion these
true authentic emotions can slip out and break the false façade of authenticity that they
have.
● Reason for brand failure
- Position amnesia
This is when a brand forgets what it is and what it stand for and tries to experiment with
their position and identity, which results in them taking a totally different route which
could result in the brands failure and might be in conflict with the brands existing image
and positioning.
Some examples for this are the Gucci Blackface sweater. Gucci stands for diversity and
they released a controversial/racist sweater that totally went against what they usually
stand for. They received an extreme amount of backlash for this and this damaged the
brand, rappers went to social media to denounce Gucci and swore to never wear Gucci
again.
● Dimensions of Authenticity
The brand authenticity is based around seven points of perception, which can be combined:
1. Heritage (Related to brand consistency, nostalgia)
2. Nostalgia (Related to brand consistency and heritage)
3. Sincerity (Related to craftsmanship)
4. Craftsmanship (Related to sincerity and quality commitment)
5. Quality commitment (Related to sincerity and Craftsmanship)
6. Design Consistency (Related to heritage and nostalgia)
7. Cultural Symbolism
● Identity
Identity is what makes you, you.
Identity is about making distinctions between each other, we know of no people without
names, languages or cultures in which there weren’t some manners of distinction between
self and other.
◦ What can change identity?:
- External environment (Events, experiences, people, school, friends etc.)
- Time (Age, natural development)
The desire of being an individual, of creating a personal history or giving meaning to
experiences is a project. The combination of two affirmations construct identity, those of
people against communities and that of people against the market.
◦ What is the difference between individual identity and those of organizations?
- The identity of organisations is constructed trough the minds of the consumers and
trough looking at what the competition is offering as identities as to differ themselves
from other organisations.
● Difference between brand identity and brand image
- Identity
This is the company view on themselves, a company could think that they offer great
products for a great price and that everyone should love them.
- Image
This is the public view on the company. This could differ greatly from the view the
company has on themselves. The public could think that the company sells bad products
and they don’t have anything good going on for them.
It is important for companies to be open to the opinion of the consumers, as they decide to
buy their products.
● What is authenticity?
Authenticity is being 100% real, when a brand has embraced authenticity and transparency,
consumers will do the marketing for them. Authenticity for companies means being as
relatable as possible for the regular consumers. In this the consumer will think that the
company is being true to reality and isn’t lying and will find themselves more in touch with
the brand.
, The official definition of authenticity is: ‘’Authenticity is to extend the sould or essence in
every activity the company does.’’ And ‘’Authenticity is real and honest, instead of artificial
and superficial.’’
● Authenticity Paradox
The authenticity paradox co-exists with authenticity, the very idea of making something
authentic is a paradox, because how can something be authentic if it is meant to be
authentic? The very idea of authenticity created the idea of in-authentic at the same time
Someone who longs to be authentic, cannot be authentic, because the awareness of the
longing also brings the awareness of being authentic.
For instance, reality shows are set up as to be authentic as possible in advance and are
managed to be so. While the candidates are selected for being as real as possible. So the
authenticity is actually staged and not natural. Most people know this to be staged, however
this knowledge doesn’t always take away to tendency to consider these shows as authentic.
Authenticity isn’t always something positive, we usually think of very deep and sincere
feelings as authentic, but someone can also have very deep and sincere feelings of jealousy
and greed. These emotions aren’t regarded as positive. In moments of high emotion these
true authentic emotions can slip out and break the false façade of authenticity that they
have.
● Reason for brand failure
- Position amnesia
This is when a brand forgets what it is and what it stand for and tries to experiment with
their position and identity, which results in them taking a totally different route which
could result in the brands failure and might be in conflict with the brands existing image
and positioning.
Some examples for this are the Gucci Blackface sweater. Gucci stands for diversity and
they released a controversial/racist sweater that totally went against what they usually
stand for. They received an extreme amount of backlash for this and this damaged the
brand, rappers went to social media to denounce Gucci and swore to never wear Gucci
again.
● Dimensions of Authenticity
The brand authenticity is based around seven points of perception, which can be combined:
1. Heritage (Related to brand consistency, nostalgia)
2. Nostalgia (Related to brand consistency and heritage)
3. Sincerity (Related to craftsmanship)
4. Craftsmanship (Related to sincerity and quality commitment)
5. Quality commitment (Related to sincerity and Craftsmanship)
6. Design Consistency (Related to heritage and nostalgia)
7. Cultural Symbolism
