Forget “Authenticity”: Your Brand Should Be Shamelessly Strategic

The Authenticity Trap

Marketers won’t shut up about “authenticity.” Scroll through LinkedIn for more than 30 seconds and you’ll see a dozen posts preaching the gospel: “Be authentic! Customers demand authenticity! Authentic brands win trust!” It’s the buzzword of the decade — and one of the most misleading ideas in modern marketing.

Here’s the provocative claim: authenticity is overrated, and obsessing over it is holding your brand back. Nobody buys from you because you’re authentic. They buy because you’re useful, compelling, or simply the easiest option. Authenticity might win you likes on social media, but strategy wins you customers.

The myth of authenticity is comforting because it makes us feel like being ourselves is enough. But in business, being yourself isn’t the point. The point is to win — to earn attention, capture market share, and outmaneuver competitors. And winning takes strategy, not soul-searching.

Let’s dismantle the authenticity obsession and talk about why your brand should be shamelessly strategic instead.

People Don’t Want Real, They Want Relevant

The whole idea of authenticity assumes customers care deeply about your “true self.” Spoiler: they don’t. They care about their problems, their desires, their needs. If your version of authenticity doesn’t help them, it’s irrelevant.

Think about Apple. Do you think their marketing is “authentic”? No — it’s meticulously manufactured to project coolness, exclusivity, and aspiration. It’s theater. And it works. Nobody buys a MacBook because Apple was being transparent about its supply chain struggles. They buy because the brand makes them feel like part of an elite club.

Or look at Nike. Was it “authentic” for a global megacorp to take a political stance with the Colin Kaepernick campaign? Maybe, maybe not. What mattered was that it was strategic. It resonated with their core audience, stirred conversation, and ultimately boosted sales. That’s relevance, not raw honesty.

Consider Starbucks. They brand themselves as community-centric and warm. Is that truly authentic for a company with nearly 40,000 stores worldwide? Probably not. But it works, because the narrative is relevant to the customers who want their morning latte to feel like a lifestyle choice.

Being authentic is optional. Being relevant is mandatory.

Authenticity Is Just Another Performance

Here’s the irony: the second you try to be “authentic,” you’re performing. Carefully crafted brand statements about “keeping it real” are about as authentic as reality TV.

Wendy’s Twitter roasts? Not authentic. They’re meticulously scripted by a team of copywriters. Duolingo’s chaotic TikTok presence? Not authentic. It’s a deliberate strategy to appear unhinged because “weird owl content” gets attention.

Even influencer culture shows this. The “relatable” YouTuber who films themselves crying on camera isn’t being raw — they’re editing, scripting, and packaging authenticity into consumable content. Authenticity has become another performance layer.

Audiences don’t actually want raw honesty — they want entertainment. They want brands to play a role, to exaggerate, to embody something larger than life. Authenticity is just branding with a beard and a flannel shirt. It’s cosplay. The only difference is that people pretend it’s more noble.

The Danger of Authenticity Worship

The obsession with authenticity can actually harm businesses. Founders convince themselves that being “true to their vision” matters more than adapting to reality. Companies avoid bold campaigns because they don’t feel “on-brand.” Teams waste time debating whether something feels “authentic” instead of asking if it will work.

Look at Kodak. They clung to their identity as a film company — their “authentic self” — while the world moved to digital. Authentic? Sure. Strategic? Disastrous. They went bankrupt while pretending authenticity mattered.

Blockbuster offers another cautionary tale. Their “authentic” identity as a brick-and-mortar rental chain was maintained right up until Netflix buried them. They stayed “true” to themselves. And they died.

Meanwhile, Amazon shamelessly shapeshifts whenever it serves their growth. Bookseller? Retail giant? Cloud empire? Entertainment studio? None of it is “authentic.” All of it is strategic. And that’s why they win.

The worship of authenticity can lock companies into irrelevance. Strategy unlocks survival.

Why Strategic “Fakeness” Wins

Here’s a dirty little secret: customers often prefer brands that exaggerate, dramatize, or outright “fake it” if it creates a better experience.

Take Disney. Nobody thinks Disneyland is an “authentic” reflection of reality. It’s meticulously engineered fantasy. But people pay thousands of dollars to immerse themselves in it.

Or look at Tesla. Elon Musk’s chaotic Twitter persona is a performance designed to keep Tesla in the headlines. Authentic? Doubtful. Effective? Absolutely. The constant drama fuels free publicity.

Even Red Bull’s identity as an “extreme sports” brand is manufactured. They sell sugar water, but their strategic positioning as an adrenaline lifestyle has made them dominant. Authenticity didn’t do that — audacious strategy did.

Brands that are “fake” in service of a larger narrative often outcompete the ones that cling to honesty for honesty’s sake.

When “Authenticity” Actually Works

Now, to be fair, authenticity isn’t totally useless. It can help when it aligns with strategy. Patagonia’s environmental stance? Strategic authenticity. It reinforces their brand story, appeals to their target audience, and differentiates them in a crowded market. Same with Ben & Jerry’s activism — it’s “authentic,” sure, but it’s also a brilliant way to build loyalty and command attention.

Smaller challenger brands sometimes leverage authenticity effectively too. Local breweries leaning into their community roots, or small direct-to-consumer brands showcasing behind-the-scenes transparency, can punch above their weight when authenticity supports their positioning.

The difference is that these brands didn’t choose authenticity for its own sake. They chose it because it served a strategic purpose. Authenticity without strategy is just self-indulgence. With strategy, it’s a weapon.

Authenticity as a Privilege

Here’s something people don’t like to admit: authenticity is often a privilege for brands that can afford it. Established giants like Patagonia, Apple, or Nike can “be authentic” because they already have resources, customer bases, and cultural capital.

But startups? Scrappy founders? They don’t have that luxury. For them, being “authentic” might mean refusing to pivot or failing to adapt. And that’s not noble — it’s suicidal.

Sometimes, “authenticity” is just a way of excusing a lack of flexibility. Strategy, not authenticity, is what keeps companies alive long enough to even consider authenticity later on.

Actionable Anti-Rules

If you want your brand to break free from the authenticity trap, here are some contrarian rules to live by:

1. Be relevant, not real. Focus on what resonates with your customers, not your personal identity crisis.
2. Treat authenticity as theater. If you’re going to “be real,” do it because it drives engagement, not because it feels nice.
3. Adapt shamelessly. Don’t cling to what’s “true to you” if the market is moving elsewhere. Flexibility beats purity.
4. Make strategy your north star. Every choice should serve growth, not ego.
5. Use authenticity selectively. Deploy it only when it reinforces your positioning, not as a default.
6. Weaponize exaggeration. Sometimes being larger-than-life connects better than being brutally honest.
7. Remember authenticity is optional. Strategy is mandatory.

Strategy Will Always Beat Authenticity

Here’s the bottom line: customers don’t care about your authenticity. They care about whether you solve their problems, entertain them, or make them feel something. Strategy, not authenticity, is what ensures you do that.

So stop worshipping at the altar of “keeping it real.” Be shamelessly strategic. Shape-shift when necessary. Play roles. Manufacture moments. If authenticity happens to align with strategy, great — but never make it the point.

Try it for 30 days. Drop the obsession with “realness” and focus purely on being relevant, useful, and strategic. If your sales plummet because you weren’t authentic enough, I’ll admit defeat. But I’m willing to bet you’ll find that authenticity is overrated — and strategy is everything.