Authenticity and Persuasion

I ran across a link to this article from Brandweek on the Fresh Inc. blog today. In it, Robert Wheatley, a PR agency CEO, states:

"Time for a new paradigm: the blending of communications and content.

We need to rewrite the rulebook. For our purposes, let's pretend that all marketing communication is intended to get and convince an audience. Replacing the cacophony of here's-my-product-please-remember-it, done with great flair, artistry and much repetition (of course), is the need to embrace something that feels and looks quite different: authenticity.

Authentic communication is by definition credible and it is usually not paid for. The litmus test of credibility is built around whom the messenger is. Effectiveness is not a factor of frequency. Rather, effectiveness is in the nature of the message and where it comes from. Persuasion in this model can actually occur after one, single exposure.

Now comes the fun part. We're really talking about outreach to a certain type of information-hungry individual (known as a "maven"), who is often at the center of his or her own social circles. He or she is an early adopter of new products, a voracious consumer of information from sources they respect, whether they're editorial, Web-based or human—and usually content rich and perceived to be independent."

The article is good, borrows on Tipping Point (viral communications, mavens, etc.), and reiterates what we and others have been encouraging our clients to do via blogging and other devices: tell their story in an authentic (trustworthy) way to generate trust, the basis of persuasion.