What is ‘authentic marketing’? Is it engaging consumers through social media? Is it giving people an unadulterated behind-the-scenes-look at your products a la McDonalds?

Authentic is arguably the biggest trend in marketing today. Companies are trying to be more ‘real’ in their advertising, more ‘true’ to their image, and more ‘transparent’ in their dealings to their consumers.

For me, it all boils down to the entire purpose of marketing. The thing is, marketing isn’t ‘real’. The purpose of marketing is to showcase your brand in the best light so consumers see value in your product or service and are willing to pay the price for it. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it harder to believe a brand once they use the word ‘authentic’. It just makes me think they’re working harder to put the blinders on.

The gist I get from reading this article is that brand executives are pushing their marketing in a more casual, less corporate direction than before. This means being more active on social media, and more in-tune with what their customers want. To me, this is the entire purpose of marketing: know what your consumers want, and fine-tune your message so that it fits that image. ‘Authenticity’ just seems like another gimmick to me.