magined uthenticity: oking a Manufactured Past Scott Smith Principal Changeist, LLC
Imagined Authenticity:Evoking a Manufactured Past
Scott SmithPrincipalChangeist, LLC
Not everything is what it seems
Image: Flickr / PhilCampbell
Insight:With so much authenticity stripped from daily life in the past few decades, what represents “real” and “old fashioned” has to be either re-established or created new in the minds of the consumer.
In both look and feel, a new authentic “vibe” is being created, reimagining older shapes, textures and formulations, creating the artisanal look and feel, mixed with modern trappings.
From grocery “market” sections to restaurants lined with old photos and pseudo-heirlooms to revivals of old ways and formulations, consumers are increasingly wanting to be transported to that “other place” of imagined heritage and memory.Image: Flickr / Scott.Tanis
ReconnectionExperienceSocial CurrencyReturn to Local
Image: Draft Magazine
"The question becomes not whether its authentic, but who has the power to authenticate?"
Mast Bros., BrooklynChurch & State, Los Angeles
Ole Smoky Distillery has been around only since July (2010), but they’ve managed to capture the spirit that has imbued this region for centuries. From the “100 year old family recipe” that is the basis for their unaged corn whiskey, to the simple but gorgeous mason jars and 1900-era letterpress labels that hold their products, to the way that they manage to fit in on the Gatlinburg strip while still somehow maintaining an air of unblemished authenticity, Ole Smoky is doing things right. Every jar of their moonshine is every bit as much a product of local culture and spirit as it is a 100 proof spirit.
“Ole Smoky Distillery has been around only since July (2010), but they’ve managed to capture the spirit that has imbued this region for centuries. From the “100 year old family recipe” that is the basis for their unaged corn whiskey, to the simple but gorgeous mason jars and 1900-era letterpress labels that hold their products, to the way that they manage to fit in on the Gatlinburg strip while still somehow maintaining an air of unblemished authenticity, Ole Smoky is doing things right. Every jar of their moonshine is every bit as much a product of local culture and spirit as it is a 100 proof spirit.”~Thirstysouth.com
Craft ingredientsExperimentation and innovationGrowth of prosumersBackgrounding of brandsRe-emergence of local specialtiesDrinks as memoriesThe source is the importance
Image: Make It Simple But Significant
The future of the imagined past