What should we check before approving campaign claims?

Check that every campaign claim can be explained clearly and reflects the real benefit, limitation or experience behind it. Remove claims that exaggerate results, cover up relevant context or rely on a promise the organisation cannot support. When a message needs more proof, education is often stronger than a truth-stretching headline.

How can a B2B campaign tell an emotional story without feeling fake?

Emotional B2B storytelling feels credible when it starts with genuine human impact rather than manufactured sentiment. Use stories from the people affected by the work, and let their language, experience and perspective shape the narrative. Emotion does not need to mean tears or drama: relevance, empathy and a truthful point of view can be just as engaging.

How do we avoid performative inclusion in advertising?

Authentic inclusion comes from representing people in ways that connect to the reality of the story, not adding diversity as a visual layer. Review whether the campaign speaks credibly to the people represented, reflects their lived context and avoids over-emotional or generic treatment. Empathy and audience understanding make representation more relevant and more believable.

Can we use AI in a campaign and still protect brand authenticity?

AI can support campaign development, but human judgement should remain responsible for the message, voice and final creative choices. Review AI-assisted work for accuracy, bias, data use and accountability, especially where the campaign makes claims or represents people. AI is useful for efficiency, while originality, empathy and a distinctive voice still need human creativity.

How do we check this campaign matches what we do?

Brand integrity starts with the work, not the campaign

Campaign alignment means the story, claims and tone reflect what an organisation genuinely does and how people experience it. Brand authenticity is not about making every message cautious or plain. It is about making bold creative work from a truthful foundation.

Start with the real business challenge, the audience's expectations and the human impact of the work. That creates audience insight before creative ideas take over. A campaign should be able to explain its promises clearly, show what sits behind them and avoid claims that stretch the truth. When a product needs explanation, foundational education is often more credible than a dramatic promise about its benefits.

Distinctive brand storytelling works best when it gives real people room to speak in their own words. That is how emotional resonance becomes believable rather than overly curated.

Sources: Faking bad: why marketers need to maintain standards in a post-truth world, Telling authentic tales, Designing an Authentic Emotional Connection

Pressure-test the gaps between the message and reality

A credible campaign can fall apart when the creative idea moves further than the organisation's actual behaviour, evidence or customer experience. Review the campaign for false claims, missing context and polished narratives that do not sound like the people, customers or communities they represent.

Representation needs the same care. Authentic inclusion is more than visible variety: the message needs to feel relevant to the people it depicts and avoid using emotion as a shortcut. Empathy matters because campaigns communicate with people, not abstract audience segments.

AI-assisted advertising also needs clear human judgement. AI can help with repetitive tasks and early ideas, but accuracy, bias, data use and accountability still need attention. Human creativity and a clear brand voice help protect against predictable content that looks and sounds like everyone else. When a campaign idea feels questionable, pause, check the audience context and find the honest alternative.

Sources: Faking bad: why marketers need to maintain standards in a post-truth world, Storytelling and imagination in the age of AI, The Prompt: Why brand matters more than ever in an AI world, Designing an Authentic Emotional Connection

We believe bold creative work needs an honest backbone

We believe a campaign should be as distinctive as the organisation behind it, without making truth the price of creativity. That means getting beneath the brief, understanding the audience and testing whether a message reflects real experience rather than a convenient narrative. We do not see authenticity and imagination as opposing forces. Clear, honest foundations give creative work more room to be brave.

We have put that belief into practice by creating a film for UST about its work with Nourish + Bloom Market. The story centred the people affected by the partnership, including the founders, local suppliers, employees, shoppers and family members, and let them tell their experiences in their own words. We also use research and personas to make messages relevant to the people receiving them.