Global communications agency Cohn & Wolfe has presented its first edition of Authentic 100, a ranking of brands based on how ‘authentic’ – or reliable and honest – consumers perceive them to be.
The top 3 places have been awarded to Disney, BMW and Microsoft, but the list includes several leading brands from the food and beverage retail sector.
In the top 50 are Coca-Cola (19th), followed by Nestle (22), Lindt (38), Kellogg’s (42), and Heinz (49).
Placing in the second half of the list are Nescafe (51), Hershey (58), Danone (61), Subway (62), Pepsi (84), Pizza Hut (69), Budweiser (72), Ben & Jerry’s (78), Ferrero (87), Starbucks (91), Del Monte (92) and Bacardi (96),
To put together the Authentic 100 list, Cohn & Wolfe surveyed over 12,000 consumers in 14 markets on more than 1,600 brands. Research was conducted in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UAE, the UK and the US from September through October 2015.
The study defines for the first time the characteristics that determine "the authenticity of brand" and identifies a "authencity gap" between brands and consumers, as 78 per cent of consumers do not think brands are open and honest.
Significantly, 88 per cent of global consumers are prepared to reward a brand for its authenticity, i.e. how much it is reliable, respectful and real.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
