'Reputation capital' trumps purpose | WARC | The Feed
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'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]
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