Canada’s most trusted brand is a company many motorists call when they are stranded at the roadside with a flat tire, or need a set of jumper cables to start a dead car battery in a snowy parking lot, according to new research.
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has taken the top spot in the annual Gustavson Brand Trust Index published by the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business. The motor club, best known for providing roadside assistance, unseated Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), which ranked number two this year. The Vancouver-based outdoor equipment retailer was number one in 2017 and 2016.
The index ranks 299 Canadian companies and brands according to a sample of 6,342 consumer opinions on a range of brand value measures. Costco Wholesale, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Ikea rounded out the top five most trusted brands, respectively, in 2018.
Saul Klein, dean of the Gustavson School, said it is no coincidence that the top three brands are membership-based. He points to the “tight connections” these organizations have with their members and “stronger feedback loops” as the key drivers that build up trust.
“It keeps them much more in tune with what the changing requirements are,” Klein told CTV News Channel on Monday. “Other organizations are more susceptible to short-term market pressures, whereas if you look at the top ones, they really are able to take a long-term view and build a trusting relationship with their customers.”
Klein said the index measures three kinds of trust:
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How a brand delivers on promises such as pricing, value, quality and innovation.
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How a brand relates to consumers, including honesty, respect for privacy, and response when something goes wrong.
- Finally, how a business ranks in terms of values-based trust. That includes environmental commitments, treatment of employees, and engagement with the community.
“There is a need for business to think about acting responsibly, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good for business,” Klein said.
He said the index, now in its fourth year, has also demonstrated the importance of putting forward a strong response when a brand’s reputation is publically tarnished.
“Last year, we saw Samsung take a big drop. If you remember, it was about the phones kind of self-combusting,” he said. “They are not back to where they were before, but they have significantly recovered. It’s about recognizing the problem, responding very well, very quickly, taking it seriously.”
On the other hand, Klein points to the fallout of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions cheating scandal. The German automaker ranks 298 out of 299 on this year’s index.
“The stronger the violation, the slow speed of response to it, makes it very hard to recover,” Klein said. “I don’t think they (Volkswagen) took the issue seriously enough. There was a period of denial.”
