The world’s relationship with the truth is currently going through something of a ‘difficult period’. From AI ‘celebrity’ videos that celebrities didn’t make to political statements that politicians didn’t state. If Trump’s lips are moving, he’s lying; and social media is full of #blessed people living their #bestlife.

It is an ethical climate change that sees oceans of lies swamping large tracts of what we once considered safe and true refuge. The 24hr news cycle has commoditised current affairs into an obscurely imbalanced, yet darkly hypnotic, tsunami of the worst of the world; a ‘designed truth’ strategically motivated to keep us bumping against the screen like panicking flies.

When the ground beneath us washes away, we are prone to clinging to ‘the truths we can live with’, rather than the truth as proven. In such a climate, where falsehood is expected, protecting your brand’s authenticity becomes both harder and more important than ever. Here are five tips to weather the storm:


1. “To thine own self be true,” Polonius says. “And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Take time to understand your brand. The way your brand is defined is your datum of brand truth. Note, business is a sub-set of the brand; business leaders find it way easier to define their business than their brand. If you struggle, get someone outside of the business to help. Someone you can trust to be honest and down to earth.


Ever watched kids playing football, where they all flit like moths around a leather lightbulb? That’s what a trend is. It might seem right in the moment, even alluring, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Stay your course. Refer to your datum in moments of doubt.


It doesn’t matter what you ‘say’ you are, people will make their mind up based on ‘how’ you are. That includes your staff too – the ones who actually deliver your brand. If you’re not prepared to exemplify your brand, why should they?


Alexander Pope’s way of saying we all make mistakes. Brand faith is not lost in the error but in its poor resolution. Use empathy to understand a situation from everyone’s perspective, so you can address what they are most upset about directly and openly.


In the right place, automation can definitely enhance your customers’ experience of your brand. In other instances, though, it can sterilise it – turning into a functional exchange. At that point you’ve lost a key point of differentiation and with it, a reason for customers to stay with you.