Marketing research firm BrandSpark International recently announced the 2017 winners of its Most Trusted Awards for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. For the fourth straight year, more than 10,000 American shoppers determined the winners by naming their most trusted Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty, Household & Pets and Kids & Babies brands.
“In a time when decades of brand trust can be destroyed in 140 characters, consumer trust is critical for brand survival,” said Robert Levy, president of BrandSpark, in a news release. “America’s top CPG brands have established trust by repeatedly meeting consumer expectations with a great product experience. The very best brands elevate this trust further with timely innovation while maintaining a perception of strong value.”
Trust remains a critical factor in purchasing decisions
When shoppers aren’t familiar with a brand or product, they often look toward endorsements from other consumers. In fact, in the BrandSpark American Shopper Study, 68 percent of respondents—from millennials to older shoppers—stated that they trust consumer-voted awards for brand endorsements. For health & beauty products, consumer-voted awards are the most influential endorsements outside of medical professionals and direct friends and family, with 45 percent of shoppers saying that consumer awards are influential to their beauty purchases, increasing among millennial beauty shoppers to 60 percent.
Noted American brands, such as Tide and Eggland’s Best, have used their award win in their PR and marketing endeavors (on packaging, in TV advertising, in print, on social media, and across other online channels) because they recognize that use of the credential helps shoppers identify products and set expectations about quality and value, and makes it more likely for a shopper to trust a brand and buy a product.
The logo serves to remind shoppers of the trust earned by America’s top brands, and shoppers report that seeing the logo positively influences them toward purchase of a product. “Just 18 percent of shoppers buy any product so long as it offers the best price, so brand trust is a key factor in the purchasing decision,” added Levy. “Most shoppers will opt to buy one of their trusted brands first with price being the final factor in their decision. In fact, brand trust is especially important when trying new products, with 67 percent of Americans saying they try new products from the brands they trust most.”
The following is the complete list of BrandSpark Most Trusted Award winners for 2017 in the United States:
Maintaining brand trust
Americans increasingly trust brands they perceive as values-based, fair and ethical. Day-to-day, this often means a reasonable price for the brand’s products. Honest support of social causes can also elevate trust in a brand. “The strongest instances of cause-marketing happen when a brand takes a position that entails some risk, suggesting to like-minded consumers that the brand’s position is authentic,” said Levy.
Consumers also trust brands that respond to problems quickly and transparently: 70 percent of shoppers say that brands who “respond quickly to serious product issues” greatly increase their trust, more than any other brand action. “While major product issues reveal brands to be fallible, Americans can be willing to forgive and give brands a second chance. It is crucial for brands to rebuild at these times by taking responsibility, addressing the problem, and reminding shoppers of the trust earned in the past and how the brand will work to preserve it.”
How winners are determined
More than 10,000 American shoppers determined the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards winners for 2017 through their “top of mind” unaided responses for categories in which they purchase. The results are ranked based on the greatest volume of mentions (ties are declared if the margin of victory is within 1%). The questions were included in the annual BrandSpark American Shopper Study, now in its ninth year.
BrandSpark also conducts the Most Trusted Awards annually in Canada. For more information, visit BrandsparkMostTrusted.com
The research-based awards program operates independently from media, with winners exclusively determined by the unaided responses of shoppers in the BrandSpark American Shopper Study, one of the most comprehensive annual surveys of household shoppers.
