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Trust and Brands - UK - February 2016

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Report scope
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Long-standing brands around the home are most trusted
Figure 1: Top ranking of brands by agreement with the statement “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Finance brands, particularly loan brands, least likely to build trust
Figure 2: Brands with the lowest scores for “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Experience of a brand helps to build familiarity and trust
Figure 3: Brand awareness to usage ratio, by proportion of agreement with trust, 2014-15
Ethics matter – but only to a point
Figure 4: Proportion of consumers who associate a brand with the word “ethical”, by the proportion who trust that brand, 2014-15
Perceived quality translates into greater levels of trust
Figure 5: Perceived high quality, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
A contrast between high-use categories…
…and sectors where people have fewer direct interactions
Aldi and Lidl shaping new behaviours and attitudes in the grocery category
Figure 6: Trust over time of The Big Four supermarkets and Aldi and Lidl, 2012–15
What we think
BRAND TRUST OVERVIEW – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Functional brands occupy the top spots
Amazon a standout
Familiarity breeds trust
Consistency is needed to develop trust
Finance brands suffer from negative industry associations
MOST TRUSTED BRANDS
Familiar brands around the home are the most trusted
Figure 7: Top ranking of brands by agreement with the statement “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Familiarity breeds trust
Figure 8: Usage of top trusted brands, 2014-15
Customer experience helps to build trust…
Figure 9: Satisfaction and recommendation of top trusted brands, 2014-15
…but is not the be-all and end-all
On rare occasions, brands can build high trust without excelling in other areas
Figure 10: Other perceptions of top trusted brands, 2014-15
BRANDS THAT LACK HIGH TRUST LEVELS
Finance brands, particularly loan brands, least likely to build trust
Figure 11: Brands with the lowest scores for “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Newspapers break the link between trust and usage
Figure 12: Use of brands with low scores for “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Least trusted brands generally struggle elsewhere
Figure 13: Other perceptions of brands with low scores for “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Least trusted brands generally have lower satisfaction
Figure 14: Satisfaction and recommendation of brands with low scores for “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
SECTOR REVIEW – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Enhancing the customer experience in retail
Luxury brands can build trust on reputation alone
Function helps household and personal care brands
Appealing to core human emotions in travel
Expertise in other categories boosts trust in finance categories
Trusted food and drink brands prove their quality over time
AUTOMOTIVE
Ford and Mercedes-Benz top the most trusted car brands
Figure 15: Top trusted brands in the automotive sector, 2014-15
Consumers need to feel confident in their choice of automotive brand
Figure 16: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the automotive sector, 2014-15
BEAUTY AND PERSONAL CARE
NIVEA secures three brands in the top ten BPC brands
Figure 17: Top ten trusted brands in the beauty and personal care sector, 2014-15
BPC brands that can combine functionality with satisfying the consumer ego likely to perform strongly
Figure 18: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the beauty and personal care sector, 2014-15
DRINK
Range of different drink types in top trusted brands
Figure 19: Top ten trusted brands in the drink category, 2014-15
Consumers enjoy feeling pride in their choice of drink brand
Figure 20: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the drink sector, 2014-15
ENERGY
British Gas history provides an advantage
Figure 21: Top trusted brands in the energy provider category, 2014-15
Customer service can be a differentiator for energy suppliers
Figure 22: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the energy sector, 2014-15
FASHION
Luxury fashion brands can create trust without active experience
Figure 23: Top trusted brands in the fashion sector, 2014-15
There is an expectation that fashion brands can boost confidence
Figure 24: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the fashion sector, 2014-15
FINANCE
The most-trusted financial services brands are drawing on attributes from other markets
Figure 25: Top trusted brands in the financial services sector, 2014-15
Finance brands can protect themselves by concentrating on customer care
Figure 26: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the financial services sector, 2014-15
FOOD
Food: another sector where heritage translates to trust
Figure 27: Top trusted brands in the food sector, 2014-15
Proving quality over time appears to be a key factor in trust generation for food
Figure 28: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the food sector, 2014-15
FOODSERVICE
Trusted foodservice brands have high exposure
Figure 29: Top trusted brands in the foodservice sector, 2014-15
Consistency in foodservice is key
Figure 30: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the foodservice sector, 2014-15
HOUSEHOLD CARE
Household care’s functional side actively builds trust
Figure 31: Top trusted brands in the household care market, 2014-15
Confidence and quality important factors for household care
Figure 32: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the household sector, 2014-15
MEDIA
Trust does not necessarily lead to readership
Figure 33: Top trusted brands in the media category, 2014-15
Media brands need to be aware of what their readers want to see
Figure 34: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the media sector, 2014-15
RETAIL
Amazon is most trusted retailer
Figure 35: Top trusted brands in the retail category, 2014-15
Online retailers changing the meaning of customer service
Figure 36: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the retail category, 2014-15
TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
Big name tech brands top the list
Figure 37: Top trusted brands in the technology product and service provider category, 2014-15
Signs that technology has not yet become second nature
Figure 38: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the tech product and service sector, 2014-15
TRAVEL
A mix of premium and budget travel brands
Figure 39: Top trusted brands in the travel sector, 2014-15
Safety influences trust in travel brands
Figure 40: Top five factors with the highest correlation with trust in the travel sector, 2014-15
FACTORS INFLUENCING TRUST – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
First step to trusting a brand is to actually use it
Ethics matter – to a point
Brands with a strong association of value may lack the trust of others
Brands should pay attention to their reputation
THE ROLE OF AWARENESS AND BRAND EXPERIENCE
Experience of a brand helps to build familiarity and trust
Figure 41: Brand awareness to usage ratio, by proportion of agreement with trust, 2014-15
Premium brands able to create trust on the basis of reputation as well as customer experience…
…While tabloids, carbonated drinks and supermarkets under-perform compared to usage
THE ROLE OF ETHICS
Ethics not a huge influencer on trust, but consumers do expect a minimum amount of CSR
Figure 42: Proportion of consumers who associate a brand with the word “ethical”, by the proportion who trust that brand, 2014-15
Brands with ethical images are often more niche
Brands should still avoid being seen as unethical
The dangers of negative social media coverage
Starbucks in need of repairing image in wake of online criticism
Figure 43: Proportion of total brand conversation around ethics and tax, 2010-15
Banking brands tend to consistently suffer more online than others
Figure 44: Proportion of brand mentions around ethics and unethical behaviour, 2011-15
Yet Barclays and HSBC show improvement in image despite negative coverage
Concerns over labour conditions create spikes but do not have the same reach or longevity
Figure 45: Proportion of brand mentions around ethics and unethical behaviour, 2011-15
Primark improving image in the wake of increased ethical initiatives
Apple’s image remains largely unchanged
THE ROLE OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE
Trust is strongly shaped by customer experience
Figure 46: Perceived good customer service, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
A few brands break from the norm
Poor customer service a driver for change
THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED VALUE
A reputation for value can be a defining point for a brand
Figure 47: Perceived good value, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Value isn’t about price alone – but low prices can define a brand
THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED QUALITY
Increase in perception of quality can directly drive increase in trust
Figure 48: Perceived high quality, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
THE ROLE OF A GOOD REPUTATION
Reputation crucial to trust in most cases
Figure 49: Perceived good reputation, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Amazon’s service and overall brand strength can minimise the impact of criticism
THE IMPACT OF PERCEIVED HEALTHINESS IN FOOD BRANDS
Little correlation between healthiness and trust in food brands
Figure 50: Perceived healthiness, by proportion of agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2014-15
Concerns over health might still limit the development of trust though
CROSS CATEGORY COMPARISON – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Aldi and Lidl shaping new behaviours and attitudes in the grocery category
Consumers are more confident with value brands in general
Banking brands on the rise, but still can’t shake off past mistakes
VW’s trust has plummeted post-emissions scandal
Ford has come out unscathed
DISCOUNT GROCERS MAKING AN IMPACT
Aldi and Lidl causing disruption in the supermarket category
Figure 51: Trust over time of The Big Four supermarkets and Aldi and Lidl, August 2012-August 2015
Figure 52: Usage of supermarkets in the last year, August 2012-August 2015
Aldi and Lidl changing the meaning of value in the supermarket category
Figure 53: The perception of offering good value over time in The Big Four supermarkets and Aldi and Lidl, August 2012-August 2015
TRUST IN VALUE BRANDS
Consumers now more trusting of value brands than before…
Figure 54: Change in trust and usage in the last year of brands with high scores for offering value, 2012-15
…but trust appears to have little impact on actual usage of these value brands
REBUILDING TRUST IN THE BANKING SECTOR
Consumers more trusting of the industry as a whole
Figure 55: Proportion of people with any trust in different elements of the banking industry, June 2014 and May 2015
Trust in individual brands is also on the rise
Figure 56: Brand scores for agreement with “A brand I trust”, 2012–15
Brands can take themselves out of the overall impact by showing themselves to be different
Three brands most strongly affected by scandals in recent years
Figure 57: Proportion of consumers who trust Barclays, 2012-15
Figure 58: Proportion of consumers who trust The Co-operative Bank, 2012-15
Figure 59: Proportion of consumers who trust HSBC, 2012-15
All banks have shown signs of recovery, helped by their strong overall brand images
Impact of drop in trust is minimal in the short term…
Figure 60: Barclays trust and usage in the last 12 months, 2012-15
Figure 61: The Co-operative Bank trust and usage in the last 12 months, 2012-15
…but usage does not necessarily increase in line with trust afterwards
IMPACT OF THE EMISSIONS SCANDAL
Emissions scandal knocks trust in Volkswagen
Figure 62: Brand perceptions of Volkswagen, December 2014 and November 2015
Figure 63: Brand perceptions of Audi, December 2014 and November 2015
Other automotive brands also appear to have been affected
Ford may stand to benefit the most
Figure 64: Brand perceptions of Ford, December 2014 and November 2015
Volkswagen in a position to recover
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Abbreviations
APPENDIX – THE MARKET
Figure 65: Primark brand attributes, 2012-15
Figure 66: Apple brand attributes, 2012-15
Figure 67: Amazon brand attributes, 2012-15
Figure 68: Barclays brand attributes, 2012-15
APPENDIX – BRANDS COVERED

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