Brands have always been commercial agents and brand managers take pride in their ability to meet the needs of their target market. However, these two desires are in conflict with the recent trend towards positioning brands as “authentic,” emphasising the timeless values desired by consumers while downplaying apparent commercial motives. The dual problem for the firm is in creating images of authenticity while dealing with the challenge that authenticity presents for brand management.

An initial realisation must be that brand managers are not the sole creators of brand meaning. In this sense, there also exists a need for it to have moral legitimacy by pursuing pro-social actions. For example, the early support offered to the gay community by the Levi's clothing company ensures that the brand continues to have relevant meaning to gays. Brands that tried to exploit this segment when homosexuality became more generally accepted struggled because they were late to the party and were viewed as exploiting a community without paying the necessary dues.

Merely making an assertion that a brand is “authentic” probably will not be successful because of differing views on what such claims would mean – for some it could indicate a real (vs counterfeit) brand, while for others it could mean something much deeper. Marketers will need to indicate authenticity by drawing on attributes that can be real, though efforts also include some claims that are contrived. For example, Gucci promotional efforts had claimed their ancestors made saddles for the Medici family, the wealthy patrons of the arts in medieval Florence, as a means of providing the brand with a tradition of quality leather work. While the company has openly admitted that this claim is false, they still persist with the myth, going so far as to have a saddle in their Italian offices to suggest just such a link (Forden, 2001).

Consumers can also assume on their own that objects have authenticity, based on consumers' mental perspectives of how things “ought to look”. For example, tourists often desire the trappings of authenticity for their travels while they do not wish to endure the lifestyle hardships often faced by local inhabitants. The theme park experience is more popular than spending time in the real conditions that the park represents. They buy examples of local handicrafts, such as the conical hats worn to protect the women who mend Vietnamese roads from the blistering tropical sun, without experiencing the unpleasant conditions that gave rise to their specialised design. Updated styles of old brands such as the new VW Beetle are authentic for some because they work and give pleasure, rather than being true to the original (Postrel, 2003). Connection with time and place is also important for consumers because it affirms tradition. In retail, Australian stores such as The Depot affirm older traditions by drawing on 1950s American style to convey a sense of authenticity and nostalgia. At the other end of the spectrum, authenticity serves consumers as a form of self-expression for brands that represent a genuine expression of an inner personal truth or an expression of identity through community membership such as the ownership of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Marketing practice must continually craft together these disparate sources to create rich brand meanings for target consumers rather than seeing them as competing sources of authenticity. The important thing is that consumers perceive the aspects of authenticity as real, whether those aspects are really authentic or not. We lack empirical studies of pragmatic insight of how brands have maintained images of authenticity over time, yet intuitively there exist obvious potential applications and explanations of sources that could provide direction for strategic planning. Managers must spend more time with their consumers listening to their needs and interests and how their brand can meet those needs.

So while consumers may identify with certain attributes of authenticity – links to past, hand-crafted methods, respect for traditions, or cultural links, all of which downplay commercial motives – when they select brands, the makeup of these attributes will depend on the shared histories of a community of consumers. This means that instead of attempting to play up the authentic origins of a brand directly, marketing efforts must take an indirect route, for example by becoming a member of a community. For example, Dunlop in Australia sponsor local sporting events rather than high profile sports, sponsoring newspaper columns and radio spots on local sports results. This gives Dunlop a significant advantage over larger international rivals, and has resulted in generations of Australians having favourable attitudes toward the brand.

The bottom line is that brand managers must appear distant from commercial considerations to some extent, and downplay their commercial prowess. Authenticity must appear non-commercialised, as in the successful example of surfing consumers who prefer not to view their brands as brands, but rather as loyal friends and part of a wider community of beachgoers. Some efforts can seem strained, as with retail service businesses that apparently try to downplay their commercial motives with slogans such as “faithfully serving the local community since 1937”. Brand managers therefore need to develop behind-the-scenes systems that make them appear less commercialised. Peterson's (1997) examination of country music found that organisers managed the conflicting pressures of remaining true to perceived views of authenticity, in this case rustic hillbilly imagery and spontaneous informal amateurism amongst the players, and the need to craft a viable commercial product. It turned out that performances were far more tightly programmed and scripted than consumers thought.

To balance these pressures, firms should detach formal structures and day-to-day work activities in order maintain moral legitimacy, while also remaining profitable; they should give the outward appearance of conforming to the expected rules of their communities or subcultures, while behind the scenes, investing in quality, market knowledge, and customer informed innovations.

It is a difficult directive, but brand managers must actually appear a little less pleased with themselves at their effectiveness in meeting customer needs, engage consumers in a two-way dialogue about brand meaning, and let their brands be adopted by communities.