In her book "Authentic TM" author Sarah Banet-Weiser tackles one of the pressing questions of this century: Authenticity in connection with branding.
In the "good old days", before cable TV and the Internet, branding happened more naturally. Cleverly the author refers back to the branding of cows in the 18th century; today branding is big business.
Sarah Banet-Weiser does a phenomenal job in telling how branding has evolved using various, very different examples, most notably Dove Soap, various self-branded Social Network "stars" and teen idol Justin Bieber, the graffiti artist Banksy (who I had never heard of), various political, religious, and environmental organizations, bottled water, urban farming, yoga, and much more.
Sarah Banet-Weiser delivers. When she writes:
"To understand what is at stake in living in brand cultures, we need to account for this ambivalence, explore its possibilities, and think about what the emergence of brand culture means for individual identities, the creation of culture, and the formation of power."
she puts her finger right at what not only marketing and advertisement agencies should be pondering, but we ourselves, all of us.
I bought "Authentic TM" because I wanted to find out how important authenticity is to Americans. After reading Banet-Weiser's book it appears to me that even authenticity has to be branded.
Most shocking I found Sarah Banet-Weiser's analysis how young people are using social media to ask "Who am I?", which almost inevitably seems to lead to "How do I sell myself?" Facebook, MySpace, YouTube lead the pack of Social Media sites.
Positive and refreshing is the author's discussion about Urban Farming. She writes:
"... urban farming did not grow out of manufactured demand as a deliberate marketing strategy but rather are a consequence of economic collapse. The global economic crisis that emerged in force in 2008 has allowed for a reimagination of the practice of urban farming..."
Beginning with this paragraph Sarah Banet-Weiser shows how brands can develop in the best way. Urban farming becomes popular when and where people are lacking money, during and after the Great Recession. Probably some of the people who started the first garden on their block did not have TV at their house to endure the onslaught of commercials selling brands. Salad and carrots have no brand. Raising and harvesting vegetables is a social activity to be enjoyed with friends and neighbors. Even without relying on brands people feel cool and happy, yet a new brand "Urban Farming" develops out of that.
In short, the author explains how "branding" is a multifaceted value.
To me, one arising question is: If branding is such a substantial part of the American way of living, and if clearly branding has good sides "What is the appropriate punishment for violators?" While branding is supposed to make clear, what a particular person or organization stands for, it also invites lying and cheating.
I must admit I fell for the trap myself. In my own ebook I write:
"... Was that part of their success? That with one single word they could relate what they were about... We had enough of flowering political phrases, swayed media, unhealthy additives... we, the people of the 21st century, like things straight forward. We like things naked because naked means bare off additives.... I thought about other naked products: Naked Juice and Naked Coconut Water (I drink these juices... all the time), Bear Naked All Natural Granola... there were even Get Naked Low Calorie Biscuits for Dogs... And this was probably only the beginning...
Could it be that naked would be the new mantra word of the 21st century?"
On July 25, 2013 it turned out that Naked Juice is not all that naked. Among others the Huffington Post featured an article with the catchy title: "Naked Juices Will No Longer Be Labeled 'All Natural,' Pepsi Says".
Authenticity is what it is all about!
Sarah Banet-Weiser quotes Jerry Stifelman, Treehugger.com,
"People seek authenticity because no one wants to be a means to someone else's end. Yet marketing is all about a means to an end. And in a world where manipulation is omnipresent--on our cell phones, our email in-boxes, our shopping carts, our kids' schools and so forth--the immutable law of supply and demand makes authenticity increasingly precious..."
And that is why "Authentic(TM): The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture (Critical Cultural Communication)" is an extremely important book.
5 stars also for picking the illustrations. They help to grasp the concept visually.
Gisela Hausmann, blogger and author
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