The University of Victoria’s fifth annual Gustavson Brand Trust Index has been released, and B.C.-based Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has climbed back into the top slot as the most trusted brand in Canada.
Rounding out the top three are the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), which swapped places with MEC last year, and Costco.
The index ranks more than 300 brands based on a survey of more than 7,200 Canadians.
Speaking on Global News Radio CKNW’s The Simi Sara Show, Saul Klein, dean of UVic’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, said there appears to be a great deal of stability at the top of the chart, with the top trio of brands holding slots in the top three places for the last four years running.
Klein added that there are several factors that play into consumer trust, including whether brands reliably deliver on promises and whether they treat consumers well.
But he said MEC’s continued high performance highlights a third dimension — consumer trust based on brand values.
“Consumers trust brands (whose) values align more with the brands that are seen to protect the environment, that are seen to protect their employees well, that are seen to make a positive contribution to society,” Klein said.
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Klein pointed to a recent controversy in which MEC was criticized for a lack of diversity in its advertisements and used the incident to actually build more trust in its brand.
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“What we saw was their response was so well done that it essentially restored trust. The CEO came out really strongly apologizing for that, committing to make changes. And as they implemented those changes, it reinforced the fact that this is a brand that really does live by its values,” Klein said.
He added that Gillette appears to have benefited from a similar bump in the wake of its controversial ad campaign targeting toxic masculinity, climbing from 88th place to 29th.
One of the former champions of the index that continues to struggle is Tim Hortons.
The company was ranked number 1 on the index in 2015. By 2018, it had stumbled to 203rd and has managed to recover this year to 136th.
Klein said the company has suffered in the wake of its acquisition by 3G Capital and controversial moves such as cuts to breaks and benefits in Ontario.
“The business model of 3G is very much based on cost-cutting, and we see their actions are really undermining the brand,” he said.
“As they were cutting costs, they were destroying the relationship that Canadians felt with the brand and, certainly, that franchisees had with the brand.”
Other brands that have seen major drops in trust in this year’s index are tech companies that Klein said are caught up in the controversy around information security and privacy.
Google’s brand trust score was down 16 points this year, Facebook’s was down 29 points and Huawei’s was down 31 points.
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