Keeping It Real and Choosing Authenticity

We hear a lot these days about “authenticity,” how companies and brands should be true to their principles (of course they still exist….the principles, I mean), and how this can attract new consumers and help retain existing ones. The authenticity word seems to be used a lot in relation to Millennials, as though they are the true guardians of the zeitgeist.

It is clearly also relevant to other generations too, but with the pace of technological change and the speeded-up world in which we live seemingly driven by the ingenuity and know-how of those born between 1980 and 1998(ish), it pays to try and understand this phenomenon.

Writing in LuxuryDaily, founder and CEO of CreativeFeed Arthur Ceria said that, “the notion of ‘authentic’ no longer resonates with me and probably most of the jaded urban consumers who are associating it with insincerity and cash-grabbing. Maybe it is time to reconsider the language of anti-authenticity.” My take on that is slightly different, however. Perhaps Millennials are not only looking for their products and brands to be authentic, but they are seeking authenticity in themselves.

I’m sure that professional marketers will tell you that all consumers, not just Millennials, try and use products and brands that reflect their personal tastes and preferences, be they retail, cultural or even political. The difference in 2016 from say, 10 years ago, is the rapidity with which the dissatisfied can broadcast their opinions. There are now so many ways to publicly express displeasure; a cut by a 140-character tweet, a Snapchat or Instagram post, and apparently to a lesser extent these days among the younger generation, a Facebook post.

Last week, I wrote about the DPA (and thanks to Forevermark CEO and DPA chairman Stephen Lussier for his correction) and the imminent arrival of a new tagline to attempt to attract Millennials in particular to purchase diamonds. In a Financial Times interview this week, DPA CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr said “We want to forge a deep and durable connection with the Millennial consumer. They are the future of the category.”

The number of Millennials and Baby Boomers in the US is roughly equal in size, yet the spending power of the latter is significantly more potent. Millennials, however, spend as much on diamond jewelry as Generation Xers, and it would appear that marketing efforts are being made specifically with the younger generation in mind. It is thought that the DPA approach for example, will take a multi-layered approach consisting of video advertising on digital platforms including YouTube, payTV and social media channels.

We live in an age when there are infinite ways to be connected to the virtual world around us, through Wi-Fi, cell phones, laptops and tablets, and yet recent market research has shown that what people actually crave is deep, lasting connection with others. That might make marketing to Millennials seem enigmatic and difficult to pin down, but keeping it real, displaying sincerity and authenticity must be the way forward.