Branding: Charisma vs. Authenticity or Charisma + Authenticity

This is a short follow-up to yesterday's post about President Obama and the Nobel Prize. I wanted to highlight two different foundations for a brand: Charisma and Authenticity.

Charisma

Charisma is based much more on fostering an emotional connection to the brand than on tangible attributes. Take "hope" for example. Hope is emotionally charged and can be an amazing catalyst. The downside is that it generally causes blind followership and buy-in. This is not to say that fans and advocates in Obama's camp are lemmings. I am a supporter and fan. The enthusiasm just needs to be tempered.

Authenticity

Authenticity is based on promoting the best of what is...not what will be. When place branding Fresno, my colleague and I focused on the six pillars identified through research that are authentic to the region. It has been difficult to find many detractors to the brand. Authenticity is also much more behaviorally based. A brand built on an authentic foundation can cause people to actually move into action by doing the things that uphold the authentic pillars.

Both/And not Either/Or

The Nobel Prize was awarded (in my opinion) based on President Obama's charisma. His goal is to authentically work for peace. It must be a both/and approach. Focusing on one or the other is not sustainable.

Charisma can rally people, but authenticity is needed to provide more than just sizzle. Likewise, building a brand solely based on authenticity make sense intellectually, but needs an emotional component. For the Fresno Brand platform, we developed a brand vision: Be World Class. Be Fresno. This is an emotional plea because the region is not at his point yet. Just as Obama built a campaign based on the vision of hope and change because the country needed those thing to look forward to.

What brands do you admire, trust, follow, support?

Is it based on the sizzle of the steak (or both)?

Related Posts

Barack Obama and the Nobel Prize: Leadership as a Brand

Memo to Conan: Fresno's not that different than you, my friend

Smartness in Action

Smart is as Smart does

AuthentiCity: The Secret of Place Branding

Oral Fixation with Brand Loyalty

Do you know why you are loyal to certain brands? Maybe it is because of the impact a particular company has on the world. Maybe it is because the quality of the product is consistently superior. Maybe it is because your family has purchased the brand for years and you are carrying on the tradition. Maybe you don't even know. Maybe something needs to change in the environment to test your overall loyalty.

Colgate toothpaste rocks. I have bought it for years and years. The Colgate company can count on me buying their brand at least tens times a year. Nothing can stop me...or can I be stopped?

Yes I can. I walked up to the aisle at Target, spotted the Colgate

and noticed something very wrong with the situation.

Was it the price? Nope.

Was it a new toothpaste that caught my eye? Nope.

Was it the picture of Jeff Gordon on the package? Nope.

It was the fact that there was not a free toothbrush included in the packaging. You see, I would buy Colgate every time (regardless of price) because the package of toothpaste always included a free toothbrush. That is how I gauged when to change my toothbrush at home. Out with the old, in with the new. Damn them for messing with my oral hygiene.

They f*ed with their differentiator. Toothpaste became a commodity again. I shopped by price and presumed quality. I did not even consider Colgate that time because they betrayed me. I was betrayed by the brand. My loyalty wavered.

The funny thing is that I will return to Colgate if they give me a free toothbrush again. They can even increase the price to account for the toothbrush. Two key byproducts of brand loyalty: 1) increased commitment, and 2) increased willingness to invest.

Bring me back, Colgate. I am waiting...

To what brands are you loyal? Why?