building a brand in an insincere age
Fix the gap between the brand you are and the brand you think you're supposed to be.
Brands are alienating customers by telling the wrong story and championing a false purpose. Avoid the same fate, attract loyal customers and out-narrate the competition by embracing authenticity.
“Branding is an exercise in trust building. When you fake your way to trust, that trust will eventually collapse—because you will have attracted the wrong people to your brand.”
Why you should read this book
Equal parts provocation and exhortation, Authenticity’s insights apply to business, marketing and life in general.
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Find out why cause-related marketing is perilous
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See how message makes the difference between success and failure
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Discover why mission statements don’t work
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Give yourself permission not to be funny
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See why creation is a better motivation than disruption
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Find out how authenticity made brands like Airbnb and CrossFit —and inauthenticity is crippling United and Facebook
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Learn what the Ramones can teach us all about branding and marketing
PRAISE FOR AUTHENTICITY
"I’ve seen people with good ideas fail because they can’t tell a good story. This book will help you sharpen the way you think about and pitch your products or services. Authenticity saves you from the biggest traps and gives you memorable ideas on how to position your brand."
Hans Tung
Managing Partner, GGV Capital
Meet the authors
Jay Sunny, chief creative officer and co-founder of the Narrator Group, grew up between the Mississippi River and the Second City, two places that have given rise to some of America’s greatest stories. He has worked in Chicago, Denver and Switzerland. His creative campaigns have been translated into over 20 languages and have appeared on every continent but Antarctica. He has won awards from the Effies, Art Directors’ Club, Epica, New York Festivals, Clio, and Cannes Lions. His work at Narrator Group has been called by researcher Dennis Nutter “the most effective I’ve ever tested, including my 20 years at Gallup.” His clients have included UBS, United Airlines, Swissair, Verizon, IBM, CenturyLink, Novartis, Amoco, and FedEx.
Mark Toft, chief strategy officer and co-founder of the Narrator Group, was the lead digital writer for the Staples Easy Button, and his tagline for CenturyLink, “Your link to what’s next,” has been in use for over a decade. He was born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he worked as a ranch hand and cattle wrestler, and has advised two governors and a U.S. senator. He graduated from Stanford University and earned a master’s degree in fiction writing at Washington University in St. Louis. Mark brings over 25 years of experience advising companies and Fortune 500 brands. His clients have included American Express, Staples, FedEx, CenturyLink, Ball, Flying Dog Beer, and Breckenridge Ski Resorts.
Who is Authenticity for?
ENTREPRENEURS AND START-UPS
Those who understand that it’s not always the best product that wins, but the best and most genuine purpose.
EXECUTIVES AND MANAGERS
Especially those who find that when they ask 5 different employees “what’s our story?” they get 5 different answers.
BRANDERS AND MARKETERS
Anyone who’s looking for more effective marketing and wants to inspire employees and customers.
BUSINESS COACHES
Those 200,000+ people whose job it is to help clients tell more effective stories about themselves and their brands.
TEACHERS
Reach students with real-world examples that engage the best ideas in branding and marketing from the past 50+ years.
GRADS
Including those who want a crash course in understanding branding and the vital role that authentic messaging plays in marketing.
BEZOS
Who says “your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Only brand authenticity can shape what that will be.
YOU
For the entertaining stories and practical advice on how to live with authenticity. This book’s value does not stop at the shores of branding and business.
Press inquiries and contact information
To inquire about interviews, speaking engagements and publicity, please contact us at authenticity@narratorgroup.com
Get a free chapter
Since you can’t pick up the book here and thumb through the pages, we’ll send you a free chapter. Enter your email address here below and we'll send you a free chapter, as well as a one-page description of our Story Workshop.
We want to hear from you
Maybe you’re part of a company that has an amazing culture and conducts itself with authenticity. Or maybe you work somewhere where everyone is rolling their eyes. We’d like to hear from you. Tell us the highlights and lowlights related to brand authenticity that you’ve seen or experienced.