Brand authenticity analysis

Respondent 11 adds an interesting point to this discussion. She states:

To sum up, respondents are generally attracted to fashion brands that convey positive messages for women. Integrating female empowerment issues into the communication strategy can definitely give an advantage to brands. The authors will discuss this topic in the following sections. Respondents’ opinions shed light on the fact that showing natural poses, quotes from movies, funny memes, empowering sentences, career women - just to mention few examples - generate interest and engagement in the community. There is clearly a tendency towards rejecting the stereotype of the skinny, tall and perfect women.

the sub-research questions and then merge into the fourth node. There is a relationship between the four nodes, they are connected and authenticity is what is binding them all.

There are elements of brand authenticity in the analysis of Instagram as well as in co-creation and female empowerment discussions. At the same time, there are also links between Instagram and co-creation, co-creation and female empowerment and female empowerment widespread through Instagram. This section is devoted to brand authenticity, the core of the paper.

The first point of this analysis can be described by the following questions made to the interviewees:

“Do you perceive Instagram as an authentic platform, compared to other social media?”

and “Do you perceive it as an authentic platform with regards to fashion industry?”.

The respondents answered in different ways and their arguments vary. Overall, authenticity on Instagram is seen as a precondition to follow both influencers and brands.

In fact, taking the words of respondent 13:

This point of view is also shared by the 12th interviewee, who adds that there is a big difference between traditional advertising and social media marketing. On communication channels as TV and newspaper the content is filtered and approved by many people, while on Instagram people are free to post anything without many filters (Respondent 12).

On the contrary, many respondents share a similar view. Some influencers and brands look more credible than others. Therefore, when choosing which type of content to consume and engage with, consumers definitely think that authenticity is an essential

“Yes, I think it is authentic. Because people can feel a connection with the influencers who are wearing nice clothes and they can show how to combine clothes and things like that. Of course, some influencers might be too built-up, in my opinion, but others are more real, like they really

show you their lives and their emotions. So it really depends on who you are following. But generally, I feel like nowadays people are just posting any kind of content that they might be thinking of.” (Respondent

13).

Taking the words of respondent 9:

On the contrary, some respondents feel like there is a lack of authenticity on the Web. As respondent 11 states,

A similar opinion is shared by respondent 15. She claims:

For what concerns consumer co-creation, authenticity makes consumers more willing to discuss anything with the brand. If a brand looks open to dialogue and shows the real self and that it cares about customers and makes them feel part of the brand then they are

“Initially Instagram was more authentic when not many people were working for marketing, it didn’t seem like TV where there are many spots. So some years ago it was definitely authentic, right now with influencer marketing I always wonder whether it is real or not. I always have to check what I see. Some brands are sponsored many times, like

Fitvia and Shoplowcost, so they do not seem authentic. but other brands look more authentic. “(Respondent 9).

“Regarding fashion, I believe that every company tries to tell a story that can be more or less authentic and tries to be as much appealing as possible, so overall this storytelling cannot be truly authentic because in

some way it is made up by the fashion company.” (Respondent 11).

“I do not see it as really authentic. I think that fashion influencers or fashion brands of course they have to post something real because this

is the aim of instagram. It is more real with respect to a website because you can post stories or videos, which look more natural. But

still it is a marketing tool. So there is a part which is not authentic.”(Respondent 15).

out that consumers are engaged by Nasty Gal content and they perceive the page to be listening to their consumers. Therefore, respondents seem generally prone to comment the page posts as well as share its funny content with friends.

Polls, quizzes and giveaways look engaging and consumers are willing to take part in these. These tools are perceived as innovative, funny and entertaining. At the same time, we can question whether these are authentic or not. In fact, few respondents claim that nowadays all these new ways of engaging people are used by the majority of brands, making it mainstream. As a consequence, the originality is lacking and they do not perceive it as a credible way to communicate with them. Those participants, who do not engage in a direct way with brands or influencers, state that they do not really know what they can get out of those interactions with brands. They believe that their contribution could not be helpful, since they are not expert in the sector, and therefore their voice might not be heard.

Looking at brand authenticity with the female empowerment issue, the main question to reply is:

“Do brands look credible in spreading this feminist message ? Does it look authentic?”.

From the interviews, it turns out that when female empowerment looks like widespread in an authentic way it generates interest. This leads to a greater interaction between consumers and brands on the online community. We have already emphasized previously (see Results, 7.2) how a higher engagement corresponds to a greater value co-creation. In fact, participants mention that, if it is clear that female empowerment is used as a mere marketing tool, they are less inclined to engage with the brand on Instagram. This happens when to the consumer it is clear that the brand does not believe in the message it is promoting. Respondents 6 brings an example about Victoria’s Secrets failure in delivering a feminist message. The company sent a message directed to all types of women, but was still having the same VS perfect models as images of this campaign. So it lost credibility (Respondent 6). This reminds to an important concept expressed previously (see Results, 7.3); there is the need to have more variety in terms of models chosen for campaigns. As respondents like to follow what is relatable to them,

they would rather follow a brand that shows authentic and real women instead of perfect bodies.

Referring to the multiple case studies, we will evaluate how credible these brands look to respondents, when promoting female empowerment. La Semaine Paris is deemed to be authentic because many respondents see a connection between the content, the brand and Gabrielle Caunesil, the creator of the brand.

For example, respondent 1 states:

This opinion is shared by other respondents as well, as respondents 5 who claims that brand authenticity lies in the connection between Gabrielle Caunesil and La Semaine Paris. Very few respondents state that female empowerment is just a mere marketing tool in this case study. The same can be said about Olivia Palermo Collection. The fact that Olivia Palermo shows herself as empowered in the pictures gives the impression to be credible. Participants, even in this case, see a link between Olivia Palermo and her brand, as she is promoting it with her own image.

“La Semaine Paris looks authentic in conveying the message of independent and empowered women because I was following it since

the beginning and it is promoting it in different ways, from posts to stories and the page is engaging a lot. The brand is empowering

women in different ways, as now with this current situation and previously for Valentine’s day. Also it looks credible because the presence of Gabrielle is very strong and is important, she is really

passionate about it and she is really authentic in what she does.”

(Respondent 1).

Taking the words of respondent 4:

For what concerns Nasty Gal, participants believe that its Instagram page is very engaging, easy to follow and with plenty of female empowerment inspired posts. It is considered authentic because of two main reasons: first, the brand targets all types of women, with different skin colours and body sizes, and second the content is relatable and creates space for interaction.

Respondent 6, as an example, claims that:

“She looks credible because she is a women in career herself so she spreads a message that she cares about. So definitely it looks credible,

also because she is wearing her clothes so I see that there is a connection with the message. As the message is relatable to her it

looks more authentic.” (Respondent 4).

“Nasty Gal is so authentic, also because I know the founder and how she created the brand and she is really authentic. Also the message widespread is authentic, as it has always been real since the beginning.

It did not change when the brand became famous. Nasty Gal promotes every type of girl and has quotes that go well with these types of pictures. It really promotes every type of skin, size and their posts make sense, as they are connected to the message so looks very authentic to

me” (Respondent 6).