Soulful Brands Rule

Working with small businesses has revealed to Bekki Stovell that the benefits of authenticity is more than skin deep

- Bekki Stovell

Over the past few years brands have embraced a more authentic way of marketing and communicating. By being more open about their process and showing a willingness to accept and act upon feedback, they’ve made a refreshing departure from the false advertising, fake news and paid-for hype we’ve been subjected to for so long.

The initial buzz around this shift has been exciting, but with time – and as this becomes the norm for more organisations – the novelty has begun to wear off and we’ve started to ask deeper questions of these brands. Sure, you’re not misleading us in order to sell your product/service, but are you actually a good company? Are you good people? Do you have values that we respect? We’re yearning to build connections with the brands we buy from, looking for justification that they are worthy of our custom.

I recently read a great article in Forbes by Nikki Baird where she suggested that the purpose of brand has changed. Brand used to be about communicating what a business sold, but with more Millennials and Gen Z’s demanding more from the companies they shop with, brand needs to evolve to communicate what a company values at its core. Consumers have the power to hold brands accountable and are asking them to do better than just be ‘authentic’.