The 2020\u00a0Edelman\u00a0Trust\u00a0Barometer\u00a0Special Report: Brand Trust\u00a0reveals that brand trust (53\u00a0percent) is the second most\u00a0important\u00a0purchasing\u00a0factor\u00a0for brands\u00a0across\u00a0most\u00a0geographies,\u00a0age groups,\u00a0gender\u00a0and income levels, trailing only price (64 percent).\u00a0The survey of 22,000+\u00a0respondents in 11 markets reveals that brand trust is more\u00a0vital\u00a0than reputation, performance\u00a0or how well a brand treats its customers,\u00a0its employees or\u00a0the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust has become a game changer for brands because it addresses people\u2019s fears about personal safety, most notably vulnerability on health, financial stability, and privacy\u201d said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. \u201cThe long-held practice of standing aside during controversies and crises is no longer an option for brands.\u00a0An Edelman flash poll in early June on Brands and Racial Justice in America* found that 60 percent of people will\u00a0buy\u00a0or boycott based on a brand\u2019s response to current\u00a0racial\u00a0justice\u00a0protests. And brands are also four times more likely to gain trust than lose it when they take action in response to\u00a0systemic racism\u00a0and\u00a0racial injustices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly half (46 percent)\u00a0of\u00a0respondents\u00a0trust most of the brands they buy or use,\u00a0a\u00a012-point\u00a0increase\u00a0from last year\u00a0with\u00a0massive\u00a0jumps of more than\u00a020 points in the U.S., Brazil and Germany.\u00a0Brand response during the pandemic\u00a0has also had a significant impact on consumer behavior; 44 percent\u00a0(up 7 points since April) have recently started using a new brand\u00a0based on\u00a0their response\u00a0to the pandemic,\u00a0while\u00a040 percent\u00a0(up 6 points since April) have convinced other people to stop using a brand\u00a0due to a brand\u2019s response to the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Respondents overwhelmingly want brands\u00a0to take action,\u00a0solve\u00a0problems\u00a0and\u00a0advocate for change.\u00a0An overwhelming majority\u00a0say\u00a0solving\u00a0\u201cmy\u00a0problems\u201d (85 percent) and\u00a0\u201csociety\u2019s problems\u201d\u00a0(80 percent)\u00a0matter most for brands today.\u00a0People want brands to\u00a0drive\u00a0change, by being a positive force in shaping our culture (58 percent) and by working to make the future better than the present (61 percent).<\/p>\n
In the face of the Covid-19\u00a0pandemic, people want brands to protect the well-being and\u00a0financial security\u00a0of their employees and suppliers (90\u00a0percent).^\u00a0Within the U.S., respondents\u00a0also\u00a0want brands to\u00a0play a larger role socially by\u00a0educating\u00a0about and advocating\u00a0for racial equality (58\u00a0percent);\u00a0creating\u00a0change in society that addresses the roots of racial inequality (60\u00a0percent);\u00a0and backing\u00a0up their words on racial equality with action\u00a0(63\u00a0percent).*<\/p>\n
\u201cBrands are seen as having more power than their corporate parents because they are answerable to the belief-driven consumer exercising brand democracy,\u201d said Edelman. \u201cThere is a demand for tangible actions, not just communications,\u00a0for\u00a0brands to partner with government to find a safe way to return to normal service or to shift the product mix to help people meet the new challenges of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0study also revealed\u00a0trust as the key to\u00a0brand\u00a0loyalty and\u00a0deeper, resilient relationships.\u00a0Six times as many respondents say they will only buy a brand they trust.\u00a0Seventy-five percent of consumers with high\u00a0brand\u00a0trust say they will buy\u00a0a\u00a0product\u00a0even if it isn\u2019t the cheapest, is the only brand of this product they\u2019ll buy, and immediately check out a new product from that brand.\u00a0Respondents\u00a0are\u00a0nearly\u00a0five times more likely to advocate for a high trust brand and are\u00a0more than\u00a0twice as likely to share their personal information or\u00a0pay attention to\u00a0brand advertising.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0earned media is\u00a0far more effective\u00a0than advertising when it comes to earning trust.\u00a0Nearly seven in 10 people\u00a0say\u00a0they avoid advertising: 78\u00a0percent\u00a0of people age 18-34 use one or more advertising avoidance strategies; 73\u00a0percent\u00a0for people age 35-54. Trust is won through personal experience (59 percent), earned\u00a0media\u00a0(44 percent) and peer conversation (39 percent).\u00a0And consumers are\u00a0more inclined to listen to an industry expert (60 percent),\u00a0a person like yourself (59 percent) and\u00a0a brand tech expert (49 percent).<\/p>\n
\u201cTrusted brands live at the intersection\u00a0of\u00a0personal and societal issues,\u00a0where\u00a0words meet actions,\u201d said Megan Van\u00a0Someren, global chair of Brand at Edelman. \u201cThere is a new risk reward equation for brands; you have to\u00a0act\u00a0to remain relevant to your consumer.\u00a0Dove\u2019s\u00a0Crown Act campaign\u00a0designed\u00a0to end hair discrimination\u00a0or\u00a0Ajinomoto\u2019s\u00a0#TakeOutHate\u00a0effort encouraging\u00a0people to\u00a0order Asian takeout\u00a0are examples of brands\u00a0who invest in actions as much as communications.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 2020\u00a0Edelman\u00a0Trust\u00a0Barometer\u00a0Special Report: Brand Trust\u00a0reveals that brand trust (53\u00a0percent) is the second most\u00a0important\u00a0purchasing\u00a0factor\u00a0for brands\u00a0across\u00a0most\u00a0geographies,\u00a0age groups,\u00a0gender\u00a0and income levels, trailing only price (64 percent).\u00a0The survey of 22,000+\u00a0respondents in 11 markets reveals that brand trust is more\u00a0vital\u00a0than reputation, performance\u00a0or how well a brand treats its customers,\u00a0its employees or\u00a0the environment. \u201cTrust has become a game changer for brands because it addresses people\u2019s fears about personal safety, most notably vulnerability on health, financial stability, and privacy\u201d said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. \u201cThe long-held practice of standing aside during controversies and crises is no longer an option for brands.\u00a0An Edelman flash poll in early June <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions\/158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commsnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}