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Summary
As consumers increasingly expect brands to “open their doors,” companies respond by offering behind-the-scenes experiences, such as factory tours, visitor centers and brand museums. This MSI working paper shows that these encounters are not simple acts of openness, but carefully staged performances of transparency. Drawing on a multi-method, longitudinal investigation of four brand backstory sites, the authors conceptualize brand backstories as selectively disclosive narratives enacted in space. They demonstrate how brands strategically balance revealing and concealing to create the illusion of insider access—an experience that can strengthen authenticity perceptions when executed skillfully, but easily fracture when the performance breaks down.
