OUGD601 - Research - Authenticity & Tone of Voice

BRAND NEW BY WALLY OLINS 

(pg.12)

• Authenticity (coming from farmers markets, home growers/brewers) can often out-weigh and attract more attention than commercial supermarkets now for specific products. Why? 

 Are they becoming more successful then?

• “Because they are authentic, or appear to be. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of barrier between us, the consumers, and the people who bring us the products. They grew it, caught it, butchered or brewed it - and now they stand behind a stall selling it."
• We know where its come from (or think we do) - Authenticity means provenance - it not only tastes good but it gives a feeling of well-being, we are doing the right thing for ourselves and the planet.
• Authenticity has always been part of the mix that consumers have wanted, but not like now - Its the inevitable paradox: the more the world goes global, the more we prize the local and the authentic. This is a trend thats been spotted, mostly by small, entrepreneurial companies. 

(Pg.13-14)

• Take cereals for instance - two packs of breakfast cereals ‘Kellogg’s’ and then ‘Dorset Cereals’. 
• The Kellogg’s packaging is a classic traditional example of fast moving consumer goods branding (FMCG - are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost) - noisy, brash, full of exaggerated claims, repetitive, almost clownish, but quite charming and of course very familiar.  
• Next is the Dorset Cereals - ‘honest, tasty and real’ - in a sober dark brown carton. This is a classic example of new wave packaging. It is simple, almost austere and understated. The copy is deliberately self-deprecating (modest or critical of-self) and its quite witty, and the packaging silently screams authenticity and provenance.

Everywhere you look, especially in the food and drink world, you find it. REAL BEAR IS ALSO MAKING A COMEBACK.

• The carbonated, sourish fluid thats produced all over the world and still dominates the market, but in the US, Samuel Adams of Boston and hundreds of other craft breweries are making a big impact. In London, Shorditch Blonde and Camdens Hell’s Lager combine authenticity with provenance, and they both come come from the heart of inner London where all the little design studios are. 

(pg.15)

• Most of the smallish, newish, innovative brands have also seen that authenticity is linked to charm. The language they use is informal and chatty - to break away from the globalised market (Innocent smoothies are a good example - personification)

• What we are beginning to see is a change in the spirit of our times, and its gradually having an impact. Its a very complex and long term trend affecting various areas of the market differently. 
• Us as consumers, want it every way, we want it cheap and good value, especially in a time of profound economic unease and austerity - thats why discounters such as Aldi and Lidl are so successful.