Green-washing, CSR-washing, pink-washing and now rainbow-washing, people have been bombarded by empty promises from brands. Now, we are starting to see the impact of this mistrust of brands, shown by new research from Havas Group.
Havas Group surveyed over 395,000 people worldwide and uncovered a deepening cynicism and a growing expectation gap in consumers’ relationships with brands and businesses. The findings show that only 47% of brands are seen as trustworthy and a staggering 71% of people have little faith that brands will live up to their promises. Even worse, only 34% think companies are transparent about their commitments and promises. The report highlights the increasing demand for authenticity in the form of meaningful and sustainable actions. As many feel they’ve been let down by fake promises.
At TrendsActive we’ve been researching the lack of trust in major institutions among people and how brands can rebuild trust for years. In line with these results, we’ve seen people generally expect businesses to take actions to increase profit and add meaning and relevance at the same time. Havas’ report emphasises the opportunity we’ve seen for brands to create a positive impact and build (or rebuild) trust by being authentic and taking meaningful actions.
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