I'd like to take a moment to talk about the role of authenticity. In all my years in public relations... from school to the corporate world... I've never heard the term authenticity used much when speaking about public relations. It gets implied, but rarely explicitly.
We talk about communications needing to be correct, concise, complete and clear - the 4 C's - but is that really all it needs to be?
It seems to me that another 'C' - convincing - should also be included. But what does 'convincing' communications mean?
For me it means that the audience moves from simply hearing, reading or seeing something in a passive sense, to doing so in an active sense. That they resonate with the message because they see that the person communicating it is speaking from a place of conviction.
There are many spokespersons who naturally have mastered this element of communication. I think of Obama's delivery of the "Yes We Can" slogan. Or watch any interview with Warren Buffett or Jack Welsch. All have different styles of communicating - yet all are fascinating to watch because you sense that they truly believe what they are saying - that they are being authentic.
When people enjoy listening to someone we tend to call it 'charm' or 'character' - which I suppose would be yet two more C's - but really it's authenticity. And authenticity is inspiring.
One of the problems with communications today is when such an emphasis is put on saying the 'right' thing, that the person saying it loses that intangible element of conviction and authenticity.
I think one of the roles of today's PR professionals is not only to help organizations communicate - but to communicate in an authentic fashion.
The reason this blog entry came about today was that I stumbled on a video that brought this topic to mind (see video below). When watching this video on parkour it struck me how powerful authenticity is. We've all seen the Nike 'Just do it" commercials... which were great for Nike's brand... but imagine how powerful their brand could be if they were associating it with authenticity.
Slap a Nike logo on this video and I'd argue it would generate more grassroots interest in the Nike brand than any of the other commercials they've done. Ironically, this video speaks more to the Nike "Just do it" philosophy than any of Nike's own commercial do.
When people sense authenticity they become open to attaching themselves to that which they see as being authentic. It's through this attachment that long-term brand equity is built with customers, investors and the general public.
I'll discuss communications and authenticity more in future posts and will dive in to some of the basic rules I've found are good to follow when creating and maintaining an authentic voice.
We talk about communications needing to be correct, concise, complete and clear - the 4 C's - but is that really all it needs to be?
It seems to me that another 'C' - convincing - should also be included. But what does 'convincing' communications mean?
For me it means that the audience moves from simply hearing, reading or seeing something in a passive sense, to doing so in an active sense. That they resonate with the message because they see that the person communicating it is speaking from a place of conviction.
There are many spokespersons who naturally have mastered this element of communication. I think of Obama's delivery of the "Yes We Can" slogan. Or watch any interview with Warren Buffett or Jack Welsch. All have different styles of communicating - yet all are fascinating to watch because you sense that they truly believe what they are saying - that they are being authentic.
When people enjoy listening to someone we tend to call it 'charm' or 'character' - which I suppose would be yet two more C's - but really it's authenticity. And authenticity is inspiring.
One of the problems with communications today is when such an emphasis is put on saying the 'right' thing, that the person saying it loses that intangible element of conviction and authenticity.
I think one of the roles of today's PR professionals is not only to help organizations communicate - but to communicate in an authentic fashion.
The reason this blog entry came about today was that I stumbled on a video that brought this topic to mind (see video below). When watching this video on parkour it struck me how powerful authenticity is. We've all seen the Nike 'Just do it" commercials... which were great for Nike's brand... but imagine how powerful their brand could be if they were associating it with authenticity.
Slap a Nike logo on this video and I'd argue it would generate more grassroots interest in the Nike brand than any of the other commercials they've done. Ironically, this video speaks more to the Nike "Just do it" philosophy than any of Nike's own commercial do.
When people sense authenticity they become open to attaching themselves to that which they see as being authentic. It's through this attachment that long-term brand equity is built with customers, investors and the general public.
I'll discuss communications and authenticity more in future posts and will dive in to some of the basic rules I've found are good to follow when creating and maintaining an authentic voice.
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