Authenticity in brand communication and advertising comes up a lot and we unpack what it means in this episode of The Lead Creative podcast.

Josephine ‘Jay’ Sebesho who is the MD and Founder of Janong, a Creative and Digital Agency, joins us on this episode to share how they view and include authenticity in their work.

The Coca-Cola “Share a Coke” campaign comes in our conversation was one of the most authentic consumer and insights-driven communications of recent times. The culture of sharing was on the rise at the time of this campaign, both social media and across other platforms. “This is an example of how brands can plug into a change in the culture and show that they understand their customers,” said Jay.

Jay points to representation as one of the measurables in knowing whether a brand or a piece of communication is authentic. If the work represents the customer or target audience closely and builds a relationship that is more than just transactional, then it is moving towards authenticity.

“It all starts with purpose. Articulating your brand purpose in communication is important and adds to the authenticity, that cannot be copied.”

— Josephine ‘Jay’ Sebesho

Click play below to listen to the conversation.