'Reputation capital' trumps purpose | WARC | The Feed

'Reputation capital' trumps purpose

When considering brands, reputation capital – a combination of trust, competence and reliability – is far more important to consumers than any environmental or social purpose a brand might support. 

That's the conclusion of Making Sense of Truth, Trust and Authenticity, a report from foresight and innovation practice Selbey Labs. 

In a survey tied to the report, 71% of UK adults say honesty should be a brand's most important attribute. It's closely followed by reliability (68%) and trustworthiness (67%). Just 21% place greatest value in brands that have a social or environmental purpose.

Why it matters 

With COP27 currently taking place in Egypt, there will be much talk of sustainability and what brands should be doing. But from a consumer point of view, trumpeting a brand’s environmental credentials will count for little if the basics aren’t already in place.

Takeaways 

• The main reason people would recommend a brand to others would be on the basis of its reliability (71%), followed by trustworthiness (64%) and honesty (64%). Only 17% of general respondents would recommend a brand for having a purpose.
• Unreliability (20%) is the most cited reason for discontinuing using a brand or service provider over the past 12 months; just 11% referenced concerns over brands’ corporate/sustainability purpose. 
• If a brand or business were to make a promise and then fail to deliver on it, 62% of respondents said they would stop using them, 61% said they would complain, and 33% said they would tell their friends and family about it. 

A political aside

As yet another government minister resigns in disgrace, the same research found that the leading attributes associated with the Conservative Party brand are ‘unreliable’ (54%), ‘incompetent’ (47%), and ‘chaotic’ (44%).

Sourced from Selbey Labs

[Image: Selbey Labs]