What is Authenticity?

By Anthony Garcia - Jan 05 , 2011

On BeneathTheCover.Com, we talk a lot about being authentic in your marketing and communication. I want to peel back the onion a bit on this and get a conversation started.

First, let me offer a definition of Authenticity direct from Wikipedia:

Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.

Now, here is the philosophical definition:

Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character, despite these pressures.

Jeffrey Eisenberg once told me that in today’s world of information and social networking, you don’t have the choice to be transparent, but you do have a choice to be authentic.

What does that mean to you?  Can you provide examples of thought leaders or authentic brands?  What makes them authentic?

Are brand mascots, celebrity spokespeople, brands with fictional or semi-fiction backed stories authentic?  Why?  Why not?

What does being authentic mean to you?