Archive for the ‘Authenticity Journal’ Category
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March 1st, 2010
A Conversation with Neil Crofts
by Joe Pine
I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with Neil Crofts who has written several books on authenticity and business. Jim and I cite him, in fact, on p. 123 of Authenticity in our section on "Sense of Purpose". There we quote his book Authentic Business: How to Create and Run Your Perfect Business thusly: "Neil Crofts, founder of Authentic Business in the United Kingdom [now Authenticus based in Mallorca], believes that "purpose beyond profit" is fundamental to making a business authentic; it "shines through in every aspect of what it does . ... read more
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February 18th, 2010
Not All “Advertising” is Advertising
by Jim Gilmore
In Joe's recent Journal post here, he writes: "Not all advertising is phoniness-generating." This triggered thoughts down a different path. It struck me that perhaps not everything printed in a newspaper for a fee (an "advertisement") is really an advertisement. When one runs a feature to commemorate an anniversary, like Kellogg has done, there is inherently less phoniness generated. Perhaps none at all. Similarly, when one runs an announcement for an upcoming event, there is inherently less likelihood of phoniness creeping in. Again, perhaps none does. When it comes to using print -- or any other -- media to help generate demand for one's offering, the polarity ... read more
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February 10th, 2010
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: 100 years old
by Joe Pine
Not all advertising is phoniness-generating. A recent Kellogg ad that had been running on the back page of the A section of The New York Times does a marvelous job at rendering authenticity for Kellogg's Corn Flakes. It reprints a yellowed copy of the front page of the Times from exactly 100 years ago from that date, then includes its own antiqued ad at the bottom, saying "For more than 100 years Kellogg's Corn Flakes has been a great way to start the day." As Scott McMurray points out at Business History Matters, "One of the most effective ways ... read more
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January 28th, 2010
Find Your Paradessence
by Joe Pine
In Chapter 10 (p. 219) Jim and I write about "how at the very heart of the Real/Fake Matrix lies the interplay of contradictory components -- the polarity between the real and the fake." To fully realize the key to polarity, think of it as the simultaneous holding of two contradictory aspects defining the essence of an offering. The iconic example (see pp. 223-4) remains the Geek Squad, who render themselves cool geeks. Turns out there's a word for that! With thanks to Word Spy, it is paradessence: "n. In a product, an intrinsic property that promises ... read more
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January 13th, 2010
Can You Dig This?
by Joe Pine
While traveling in Europe a few weeks ago I read this piece in the Financial Times by Rhymer Rigby, "From cornfields to Hollywood". It discussed how many industrial brands, including Chevron, Caterpillar, and especially John Deere, were having great success licensing clothing and other goods for sale to consumers. Citing Rita Clifton, the chairman of Interbrand, Rigby relates that "in a retail market obsessed with 'authenticity', these brands have it in spades."I especially liked the story he related of how one "man was so impressed with the service he received ... read more
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January 4th, 2010
Brand New World
by Joe Pine
Max Lenderman, who just recently moved to Crispin Porter + Bogusky, wrote what I consider to be the best book on experiential marketing, Experience the Message: How Experiential Marketing Is Changing the Brand World. He's added a second book to his resume, Brand New World: How Paupers, Pirates, and Oligarchs are Reshaping Business, which I can also heartily recommend. In it, Lenderman recounts his trips through the "BRIC" countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, constantly providing lessons on how marketing should be done today, even for us in the fully developed ... read more
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December 27th, 2009
Savor Saveur
by Joe Pine
I'm no foodie, but I love receiving Saveur magazine every month. Before passing it on to my wife Julie, I scour through every page, for nearly every one of them exudes authenticity. So spend a little time going through its website to read some of its articles (and look at some of the travel experiences it sponsors), but recognize that it does not do the glossy magazine justice in how it renders authenticity. Its tagline is "Savor a World of Authentic Cuisine" -- but note how that isn't an Axiom violation, for it does not claim the magazine ... read more
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December 21st, 2009
The Santamus Experience
by Joe Pine
I had the opportunity in October to participate once again in the fantastic Santamus experience. It's an appropriate topic for this Christmas week, for Santamus is one of many experiences in and around Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland -- Lapland being, as everyone knows, the real home of Santa Claus! The name Santamus combines the area's famous (albeit part-time) resident with the Finnish word isommus, a giant gold nugget, and that is the shape of the place, built out of local logs. The proprietor of the place (open only for businesses and private parties), Matti Korva, told me that "while ... read more
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December 10th, 2009
To tree or not to tree? That is the question…
by Jim Gilmore
Offbeat. Quirky. Funky. Nontraditional. These are some of the adjectives used in today's Wall Street Journal to describe the "Christmas tree-like objects" that are increasingly finding favor with consumers in lieu of either natural or artificial Christmas trees. The trend cannot more clearly demonstrate today's consumer desire for authenticity. In the article, Nancy Koehn of the Harvard Business School rightly contends that consumers are "trying to claim Christmas for their own in a way that doesn't fit how Madison Avenue defined it." Right on! Consumers want real; they want their trees to confirm to their own ... read more
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November 21st, 2009
Another Unreal Day
by Jim Gilmore
One of my favorite passages in Authenticity -- yes, an author is allowed to selectively admire his own book -- is the "One Unreal Day" experienced by fictional Brenda and Eddie (the popular steadies) on pages 32-34 and all the "Fakery" that follows later in Chapter 3 -- all the commentary on fake actors, fake phone calls, fake law enforcement, fake IDS, fake sports, fake advertising, fake sales, fake music, fake art, and fake fixtures. Every once in a while, a single newspaper issue reminds me of all the fun we had tracking and accumulating a sampling of the fake happenings that occur in ... read more