The Highest Form of Marketing Is Authenticity

Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, is one of my business heroes.

In his autobiography, Let My People Go Surfing, he offers one of the clearest articulations of what authentic brand-building actually is:

Tell people who you are.

That’s it.

Good brand-building isn’t about fabricating an image or convincing people of your value. It’s about living your principles and values.

The best brands, Patagonia included, are mirrors. They stay true to themselves and can’t help but reflect their values.

Being yourself and living your principles isn’t always easy in a world that rewards uniformity and sameness. There’s no template. No repeatable playbook.

Paradoxically, it takes less effort to sustain and leads to more authentic brands.

As Oscar Wilde put it:

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”