The Ideal Marketer is an Authentic Marketer

Abstract

Interest in authenticity is on the rise. Marketing literature touts authenticity as a point of differentiation (Gilmore & Pine, 2007; Leigh, Peters, & Shelton, 2006). Tourism literature continues to investigate authenticity in reference to the consumer experience (Steiner & Reisinger, 2006; Wang, 1999). Modern psychology considers what is, and what is not, authentic behaviour (Golomb, 1995; Guignon, 2002). And of course, Philosophy has been working on the question for centuries, with a resurgence in the last forty years (Trilling, 1974). Although marketing research has indicated that authentic marketing is effective, transformational and positive, defining marketing authenticity and applying it is challenging. The 360 degree authenticity approach is one way that researchers and practitioners can consider marketing in a qualitative way. Each dimension of the 360 degree model, however, is strongly linked to cultural context.