Lessons From Edelman's Brand Trust Report

Trust is complicated. It’s a never-ending question, and, arguably more than ever, there’s very little of it across the globe. Whether it’s down to political leaders, business owners, or even the media, distrust is a looming threat; brands, however, have a role to play in changing that narrative. 

Edelman’s Brand Trust report, now in its seventh year, carried out a global survey across 15 countries with 15,000 respondents. Its findings revealed that brands are more trusted than traditional institutions, and that consumers are increasingly turning to them to fill the distrust void. 

Within this, the report made it clear that for brands, silence is not an option. Consumers are more often of the belief that brands are obligated to address at least one societal issue - with over half of respondents saying they would buy less or lose trust in organisations that don’t. 

“What we found in our data is that brands actually provide stability in times of instability,” explains Jackie Cooper, chief brand officer at Edelman. “Consumers look to brands to be the stable thing in their life.”

The report finds that 80 per cent of people trust the brands they use to do what is right more than traditional institutions. Brands are filling the void that government (54 percent), media (55 percent), non-governmental organisations (NGOs; 60 percent), and business (65 percent) have left behind, and appealing to the idea that trust is local.

Within this, however, is a finding that brands neeed to communicate in order to gain and maintain consumers’ trust.

“We are in the most complicated world we have ever been in, and we are in the most frightening world that we've ever been in as far as marketing decisions because backlash is real,” Cooper continues. “Context is everything. It didn't used to be. It used to be that you could sign off creative work and it kind of just lived in its own world, and built your brand, and you were kind of protected from world events. That's not the case anymore, as we all know, those world events can change in a second.

“Silence is not an option; our survey showed that people feel that if you're silent, you've got something to hide, and if you're silent, consumers will make up their own narrative about you - and that's when you start to lose control of the brand. 

“The ability for people to tap on their keyboard and bring you down is off the scale, and so paralysis and indecision is the default for many marketers - we want that to be challenged.”

Despite the complications trust brings, Cooper believes that brands need to understand the nuance of who they are and understand the landscape they are in in order to pivot accordingly. 

“My three obsessive parts: landscape it; understand the context; and be very nuanced. And that's a much wider nuance than marketers are traditionally used to having because they're not used to having it. They don't do anything that's not going to work because they will lose their brand value. So this data helps marketers act.”

Edelman’s work with eBay and 'Endless Runway', she believes, is a great example of a brand understanding its mission and the landscape around them. ‘Endless Runway’ is a fully secondhand runway show across New York and London, styled entirely from eBay inventory - and is a staple piece for eBay’s strong sustainability push. 

“When you look at what's going on in the world with money, with the climate, with Gen Z, there's a real understanding of those communities to come up with something that's high fashion,” Cooper says. “ Number one: the conversation is very good to have; number two: the Endless Runway experience has been fantastic - it's teaching people in a very non-teacher way with a beautiful experience with gorgeous fashion at the very core of what eBay is offering. 

“The brand really understands where they're at and really understands what they can leverage. They're being very confident in a very elegant way and partnering with people who can reinforce their whole brand positioning. It's a really clean piece of work. So I think again, that plays to if you understand the values of your brand, if you understand the world you're in which you may do, you can do some creative, beautiful work.”

Here are some of the key insights we learned from the report: 

1. The ‘me’ and the ‘we’. Purpose has evolved to encompass both societal and personal

Consumers want brands to play many roles in their lives – especially as a stabilising force. 68 per cent say it’s very important that brands help them feel safe, confident, and inspired. People look to brands for optimism (62 per cent), purpose-driven action (61 per cent) and education (59 per cent). They want brands to offer ways to drive positive change and provide quality information to make better decisions.

2. Brands have earned trust from those with both low- and high-income levels

Since 2022, trust in brands in general has risen sharply to 68 per cent, while trust in institutions has remained flat at a trust index of 55 per cent. Notably, this trend is consistent among income levels, signalling a shift in where people place their confidence.

3. Consumer expectations define brand obligations

People believe brands are obligated to act on societal issues when the brand has a history of doing so, or addressing the problem can positively impact customers, employees, the community or even the brand itself. The more ties a brand has to an issue, the more your obligation to act grows.

4. Homegrown brands win trust

Across global markets, trust in domestically headquartered brands outpaces foreign counterparts by an average of 15 percentage points. Germany and Canada show gaps of 30 and 29 percentage points respectively. Consumers are looking inward for familiarity and stability.  

5. Expectations of an 'active brand' are set by the category. 

Consumers now expect more from brands – emotionally and personally. While sectors like health and technology are most expected to provide optimism, education, and wellbeing, other categories like food and fashion are leaned on to simply 'make me feel good'. Across the board, expectations have grown more expansive: people want brands that make them feel good, offer hope, teach them something, connect them to others, and help them do good.  

6. Cultural relevance drives brand trust. 

73 per cent of people say their trust in a brand would increase if it authentically reflected today’s culture. Similar sentiment is seen across age groups and political views. Only 27 per cent say their trust in a brand would increase when it ignores culture and focuses solely on products, demonstrating that cultural connection is key to credibility.  

7. Brands need to move from SEO to GEO. 

Among the 55 per cent of respondents who use generative AI platforms, 91 per cent say they use them for shopping in some way, including researching brands, comparing products, and summarising reviews. What shows up in AI is shaped by reputation, relevance, credibility, and clarity – it’s fuelled by earned.

8. Brand activism faces a complicated landscape. 

Consumers are more likely to buy from brands that take action on issues like clean air (60 per cent) and climate change (55 per cent). When it comes to political ideology, the left (66 per cent) and right (60 per cent) share wide support for brands that ensure clean air and water in local communities. But on all other issues, left-leaning consumers are more likely to buy from brands that support cultural issues than right-leaning consumers.