Brand trust is down, but it’s not all political.
The reputation of two-thirds of companies declined this year, according to the Axios Harris Poll 100.
But is the explanation as simple as a “Red Wave,” or that customers are backlashing against progressive messaging?
Our experience and research suggests the story is much more complicated.
While it’s easy to divide reactions into partisan lanes, the truth is that companies dabbling in both progressive and conservative issues have earned skepticism and backlash from customers. But there’s as much risk in brands staying silent as there is in speaking up.
What it really comes down to is a brand’s authenticity. Consumers and voters react more to the perceived inauthenticity of a position than the position itself. When a brand jumps on an issue for the sake of participation, the floodgates for backlash open up.
Instead, brands need to lead with their values and establish a set of virtues that matters to the core of their business. In doing so and engaging when those issues are invoked, brands can further cultivate authenticity and trust.
Leading with values can help insulate a brand reputation no matter the political or economic environment. Consumers always vote with their wallets, and in fact, fair pricing was the number one factor associated with this year’s widespread reputation drop (26%). The second? Poor ethical behavior around wages, pricing, and employment practices (20%).
This is a place where brands can lead in storytelling and shape policy change. We’ve worked with many clients, like Walmart, to successfully tell the story of employee advancement and growth.
Cultural issues are certainly another risk, but they were only the third greatest factor in this year’s reputation drop. While some of the largest gains in the survey came from companies perceived as conservative, such as Hobby Lobby, the Trump Organization, and Fox, many of them remain underground in the overall rankings. The top of the list, however, have brand attributes as described above — well-defined values and strong storytelling like USAA, Patagonia, Apple, or Trader Joe’s.
No time for silence
With less than six months until Election Day, some companies are tempted to sit out of this election and stay quiet. But the challenge with complete silence is that it makes you more vulnerable for when the inevitable crisis arises.
Coupled with the foundation of well defined values, brands can use the right message framing to avoid partisan traps. For example, consumers and voters support many of the concepts around corporate responsibility, just not the acronyms that have become partisan lighting rods associated with them:
- Nearly 80% of Americans agree that companies that are environmentally responsible are overall more likely to succeed financially.
- 96% say that companies that take care of their employees are more likely to succeed.
- And 88% say companies that hold their leaders accountable are more likely to succeed.
Note the operative word in each of these statements: succeed. No matter what the headlines say, consumers continue to believe that responsible, sustainable practices are key to long-term business success. However, if those practices are seen as distracting from a brand’s core purpose or as phony PR, it casts a shadow of doubt on all communications and marketing efforts.
Some may say, well none of this would work for Republicans. In fact, in our corporate ad tracking, some of the best testing ads are very persuasive with Republicans on “ESG topics” — as long as they have a responsibility frame.
Ultimately, in an environment where trust is down, brand and reputation communications are more important than ever. We are always looking around the corner to help our clients get ahead on future challenges. Bolstering a brand’s value and positioning ahead of potential policy battles is also far less expensive than the alternative.
If consumers know who you are and why you do what you do, it’ll make it harder for critiques, attacks, or misinformation to stick. If they don’t, brands will find themselves lower on this list next year.
