Authenticity Vs. Perfection: How To Brand Like A Rock Star

Billy Joel’s schmaltzy ballad “Honesty” spoke the truth back in 1979. Yet at the time, the accepted strategy for building a brand was creating perceptions that were often far removed from reality. Honesty was not a widely accepted strategy for marketing before the digital revolution that hit us in the late 1990s. Today, growing legions of brands are discovering that honesty is essential in developing a loyal fan base. They are learning the lesson evident in rock ’n’ roll for years: exposing your faults and imperfections makes you more real, more human, and more likely to be loved. 

The Beach Boys recorded a song in 1965 that demonstrates how authenticity is a timeless value. It is a song that I’ve always loved, but I was never quite sure why until I began to analyze the bond between brands and their fans. This particular song oozes authenticity. The Beach Boys had been in the studio that day for hours and hours recording and desperately needed a break. As fun as being in a band is, spending endless hours doing take after take of the same song is fatiguing and can really suck the life out of what should be a fun process. 

During that stressful recording session, some friends of the band came by the studio, including Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean. Mike Love went across the street to buy a few cases of beer. With each take, and each subsequent beer, the recording session began to gradually morph into a party. The songs got crazier and crazier. People started to improvise and mess around. Drummer Hal Blaine pounded on anything within his reach, including an ash tray at one point. Everyone in the room joined in the singing, even if they didn’t know the words. Brian Wilson, with Dean Torrence helping him out, kept raising his voice above the incessant talking and laughing around him, until he could resist no more and gave in to the laughter himself. 

Thank God that the tapes never stopped rolling because the final product became a number two hit in December ...

[Source: Fast Company]