I think the field has been covered well, but to state (again) the obvious: branding is not about conveying something you are not but about revealing who you are. Social media is turning up the heat on this as more and more CMO's are discovering (see BtoB's article: CMOs Feel the Heat from the C-suite). We can certainly influence perceptions in what our brand is and alter opinions and correct misconceptions, but only the experience of our product and service will reflect what our brand authentically is. I know this is basic but I was inspired to comment on it again reading William Arruda's post on brand-authenticity.
"Brand" is a noun, not a verb. It's like defining sales and marketing as the ability to convince someone to buy something they wouldn't ordinarily buy. Sales and marketing is about creating the right conditions and communicating the right information for buyers to make honest decisions. (Harvey Mackay) Branding is about who you are, not who you want to be or even who you think you are. Chris Anderson said your brand is what Google says it is, some disagreed. One thing is clear: the market will determine the authenticity of your brand by buying your product. Brand-authenticity sells because there are too many charlatans building cotton-candy brands (looks good and tastes good, but is basically sugar and hot air on a stick).
Malcolm Gladwell argues (eloquently), "Marketers don't want to spin us. They want to hold us perfectly still, so they can figure out who we are, what we want, and how to reach us." This applies to branding, marketing, PR - any form of persuasion communications. Gladwell continues, "it is better to be obvious and get your message across than it is to pull invisible strings and risk having your message miss the mark." For a much more convincing message on brand-authenticity, read Malcolm's full post here; it is quite possibly one of the most well-documented "short stories" on brand-authenticity I've ever read.
