NEWS worthy Clips (2/3)

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The Pursuit of Authenticity

What does it take to be authentic?

It is a brand’s values—the emotional connection it makes—that truly define its realism, its authenticity. Four primary draw out that connection.

* A sense of place. “Authenticity comes from a place we can connect with, a place with a story,” says design consultant Steve McCallion. France’s Champagne region, for instance, helps give Veuve Clicquot special cachet.

* A strong point of view. Authenticity also emerges from “people with a deep passion for what they are doing,” says McCallion. Martha Stewart is perceived to be authentic because her well-thought-out recipes stand in the face of mass-produced, microwaveable food.

* Serving a larger purpose. Consumers quite rightly believe, until they’re shown otherwise, that every brand has an ulterior motive: to sell something. But when a brand convincingly argues that its profit-making is only a by-product of a larger purpose, authenticity sets in.

* Integrity. Authenticity comes to a brand that is what it says. In other words, “the story that the brand tells through its actions aligns with the story it tells through its communications,” Hardison says. “Only then will customers sense that the brand’s story is true.” McDonald’s 2000 “We love to see you smile” campaign was met with .

How do you stay authentic even as you get big?

When a brand spreads far beyond its home turf, its branches almost invariably weaken. Ben & Jerry’s ice creams lose a bit of their authentic luster when they’re snapped up by companies like Unilever—a global trying to act local. Ubiquity might not be toxic to authenticity, but it certainly dilutes it.
No business has confronted this challenge more urgently than Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee gained its authentic mien as the quintessential “third place” (after home and the workplace), where people could linger for hours over “grandes” of java. Yet today, stores are overrun with a clutter of CDs, coffeemakers, bagged beans, and more. As Starbucks lurches slowly toward ubiquity, it moves further and further away from authenticity.

Vocabulary Focus

stand in the face of (idiom) ---to endure without damage when confronted by something

ulterior motive (n. phr) ---a secret purpose or reason for doing something

invariably (adv) ---always

luster (n) ---the quality of being attractive or special

quintessential (adj) ---representing the most typical example of something

lurch (v) ---to progress in an irregular and uncontrolled way, often with sudden changes

Specialized terms

by-product (n)--- 副产品；副作用 something that is produced as a result of making something else, or something unexpected that happens as a result of something else

home turf (n. phr)--- 地盘；势力范围 the area that a person or group considers its own