The simple truth: adding authenticity just isn’t that easy

You recently posed the question ‘How can you make a brand more authentic?’ (Voxpop, DW 10 December 2009).

It can be a painful process, as it sometimes means going back and discarding the rubbish you’ve picked up along the way. But then the world is more sympathetic these days towards truth.

In the end, authenticity is a combination of ‘telling it like it is’ with style, entertainment and originality, and an unusual level of energy sustained over at least a generation. So, basically, it’s not that easy.

Tony Allen, Chief executive, Fortune Street, by e-mail