Why trying to sound “real” is making companies sound the same, and how to avoid it.
By Ben Sheidler, Principal, Cornerstone Public Affairs
There’s no shortage of advice right now telling companies to “be authentic.”
It shows up everywhere. Around cultural moments, national milestones, social issues, and internal priorities like hiring, AI adoption, or community engagement. The expectation is constant: say something. Show up. Demonstrate relevance.
But the result is the opposite of what was intended.
In trying to sound authentic, many companies are starting to sound exactly the same.
The language is familiar. The tone is carefully calibrated. The message checks the right boxes. And yet, it rarely lands because it does not feel anchored in anything real.
That is the trap.
Not Every Moment Is Yours
Companies are under increasing pressure to engage across a growing number of expected moments. That includes recognition months, major cultural events, and upcoming milestones like America’s 250th birthday.
The instinct is understandable. Silence can feel like risk. Participation feels like relevance. But engagement without a clear connection to your company’s identity creates a different kind of risk: credibility erosion.
Not every moment is yours to own. And trying to make it yours often does more harm than saying nothing at all.
The Brightline
There are moments when not engaging creates more risk than speaking up. These are the moments that clearly intersect with your business, your stakeholders, or your commitments.
The challenge is not deciding whether to engage. It is recognizing those moments with clarity.
A simple discipline helps: define your brightline.
A brightline exists when an issue directly touches at least one of the following:
- Your core business or expertise
- Your employees or customers in a meaningful way
- A commitment your company has consistently made over time
When that line is crossed, engagement should feel expected. It should also sound different. More direct. More confident. Less filtered.
The Three-Legged Stool
The companies navigating this well tend to have a clear foundation for how they show up publicly. Think of it as a three-legged stool:
- What you do (Where you have real authority)
- Who you serve (Where you have real relationships)
- What you have proven over time (What you have consistently done, not just said)
When all three legs are sturdy, decision-making becomes easier.
You do not have to chase every trend. You do not have to retrofit your voice to fit the moment. And when you do engage, it carries more weight because it is consistent with what people already know to be true.
Where It Breaks Down
When that foundation is not clear, even well-intentioned engagement can create risk.
We can all likely recall recent newsmaking examples that show what happens when brands step into culturally charged conversations without a clear, established position. The challenge is not just the initial decision to engage, it is the inability to respond consistently when pressure builds.
Without a clear foundation, messaging shifts, stakeholders lose confidence, and it becomes difficult to regain footing.
The lesson is not to avoid difficult issues, it is to understand whether you have the credibility to engage in the first place and the consistency to follow through.
The America 250 Test
That discipline will be critical as companies think about engaging around America’s 250th birthday.
As company campaigns roll out later this summer and into next year, the three-legged stool becomes a simple test to apply in real time:
- What does this company do that meaningfully connects to this moment?
- Who do they serve that gives them a legitimate stake?
- What have they already done that demonstrates credibility?
A useful early example is The Coca-Cola Company and its recent anthem film that reimagines its iconic “Hilltop” campaign with an updated “I’d Like to Buy America a Coke.”
This works because it reinforces decades of brand positioning. A clear example of the three-legged stool in action.
The spot leans into everyday moments across the country. It reinforces connection, optimism, and shared experience. It does not try to reposition the brand. It builds on what already exists.
That is the distinction.
The campaigns that stand out will feel like a natural extension of the brand. Others will feel interchangeable.
Avoiding the Trap
Authenticity is not about volume. It is about alignment.
That means:
- Resisting the urge to engage simply because others are
- Being deliberate about where your voice adds value
- Grounding what you say in what your company actually does
The companies that get this right are not quieter. They are more precise. They show up where it matters and sit out the moments that do not. In an environment where everything is competing for attention, that discipline stands out.
Increasingly, it is what credibility looks like.
If your message could come from any company, it is not authentic. It is replaceable.
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