The Post-truth Business: How to Rebuild Brand Authenticity in a Distrusting World

A loss of consumer trust is at the heart of many failing businesses, argues branding consultant de Chenecey in this credible if dry manifesto. Everyone now lives in a “post-truth world,” in which trust has been “catastrophically devalued.” Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly concerned with finding companies that accord with their values. As a result, the most important issue in brand management is trustworthiness, with de Chenecey predicting that the most successful companies will be those that maintain their “reputation capital.” How to earn this trust? Businesses can take a responsible approach to customer privacy and data storage, advertise honestly, and seem genuinely—as opposed to opportunistically—socially conscious. De Chenecey backs up his prescriptions with stories both of innovators who successfully project a sense of authenticity and of well-intentioned businesses whose best efforts went very wrong, spotlighting in the latter category Pepsi’s ad featuring Kendall Jenner joining a “suspiciously bland protest.” Brands can ensure their success by following the key elements of his “post-truth brand manifesto”—authenticity, transparency, respect for privacy, and demonstration of empathy. This much-needed call for truth in advertising unfortunately skews too high on earnestness and too low on engagement to have much chance of capturing a wide audience. (Nov.)