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Only 13% of Singaporeans think brands are open and honest finds authenticity study

The world's most authentic brand

The world’s most authentic brand

China and Indonesia are two of the most trusting countries towards brands in the world, according to a global study by PR agency Cohn & Wolfe, but only 36 per cent and 35 per cent of people respectively in these two countries say they feel brands are open and honest.

In Singapore, just 13 per cent of people say they feel this way about brands.

But people in APAC look more favourably upon brands than they do in Western Europe, where just seven per cent of respondents in the UK, France, Germany and Spain, and just five per cent of people in Sweden, saying they think brands are open and honest.

In the US, the proportion is 23 per cent, and globally four out of five says they do not think brands are “open and honest”.

Globally, brands appear to have something of a credibility crisis, with what Cohn & Wolfe describes as an “authenticity gap” existing between brands and consumers; 75 per cent of 12,000 consumers surveyed across 14 markets – including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Singapore in APAC – indicated that brands and companies have credibility issues.

Donna Imperato, CEO of Cohn & Wolfe, commented: “The rules of communication have irrevocably changed, and we’re seeing consumers reward brands that understand how to engage with them openly and honestly. In fact, consumers will forgive the occasional corporate misstep if a company is upfront, and addresses the issue head-on.”

“The brands topping the Authentic 100 understand this, and have demonstrated consistently that they value more than just their bottom lines by fostering a genuine dialogue with their customers,” she said

In Cohn & Wolfe’s list of the world’s most authentic 100 brands, Korea’s Samsung is the highest ranking Asian brand, positioned in a top 10 led by Disney, BMW and Microsoft. LG is the next highest ranked Asian brand, in 28th spot.

Cohn & Wolfe’s Global Authentic 100 brands

Cohn & Wolfe's Global Authentic 100 Brands

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