There are several surveys of brand valuation, brand trust and brand reputation. Each has a different set of criteria, and each differs in its conclusions.
Some of the most popular rankings revolve around what a brand is worth. The calculation can be made based on the revenue and profit the brand produces for its parent company. It can be based on the market value of the brand, which is like the market capitalization of a public corporation. Some brand names are barely different from the parents that own them. Apple, for example.
Brand trust measures seem more difficult. What does it mean for consumers to trust a brand? Does it have higher quality than its competition? It is better known? Is it more prestigious in the opinion of the public?
Morning Consult has put together its own brand evaluation list. For its Morning Consult’s Most Trusted Brands 2022, the research firm divided its measure into what it calls “research intelligence” and “brand intelligence.” The data were collected from 2,200 Americans between April 18 and April 22. Another yardstick measures brand trust in several countries outside the United States. For our purposes, only the U.S. study was analyzed.
For brand trust, it took people who said their trust in a brand was “a lot” or “some” and placed it against people whose opinion of a brand was “not much” or “not at all.” The measure was calculated by this subtraction. The study pointed out that brand trust affects purchase behavior. The more trusted brands are most likely to be purchased. Brands with low trust, for example, were on people’s lists of items they would never buy again.
Referring to brand trust in the United States, the authors wrote: “As the pandemic heads into its third year, Americans continue to place their trust in brands that have contributed to their personal well-being or living conditions, with Band-Aid, Lysol and Clorox taking the top three spots in the United States.” The balance of brands in the top 10 had no ready link among them. They were UPS, CVS Pharmacy, Visa, Cheerios, The Weather Channel and Home Depot.
Researchers noted that the best-known brands have an advantage over those less known by the public.
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