Canada’s top 10 trusted brands

Word of mouth advertising is a powerful thing. Data from Nielsen finds that 92 percent of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all form of advertising. A key part of a referral is trust, but how can a corporation or a product gain the trust of consumers? The University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business investigated through its recently released Gustavson Brand Trust Index (GBTI).

The brand trust survey looks at several criteria, including:

Brand trust – consumer perceptions of whether the brand is trustworthy and acts with integrity

Values-based trust – consumer perceptions on the brand’s social responsibility

Functional trust – consumer perceptions on how well the brand’s product performs or functions

Relationship trust – Consumer perception on how the brand interacts with its customers

Net Recommendations – whether consumers recommend the brand to others

Overall, the study found that brand increases with the age of the consumer but decreases as the income of a consumer increases. Female consumers tend to be most trusting than males.

“We examine the importance that Canadian consumers place on different factors that lead to trust of companies and their brands,” said Saul Klein, dean of the Gustavson School of Business in a statement. “Over the last year, we have seen some disappointing examples of where companies have undermined consumer trust through misguided behaviours, but also some inspiring cases of good conduct that have enhanced trust.”

 

Canada’s Top 10 Most Trusted Brands

1.MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) & President’s Choice TIE

3. Costco

4. Home Hardware

5. Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix

6. Canon

7. DAVIDsTEA

8. Fairmont Hotel & Resorts

9. Band-Aid & Columbia Sportswear TIE

The study looked at trust among different sectors.

The winners of Consumer Trust by Industry Sector are: (Overall ranking in brackets)

Appliances – Whirlpool (31)

Automobile Rental – Enterprise-Rent-A-Car (157)

Automobiles – Tesla Motors (11)

Beer – Alexander Keith’s (51)

Coffee/Tea – DAVIDsTEA (7)

Confectionery/Snack Food – Laura Secord (17)

Dairy – Agropur (Sealtest, Quebon, L’Extra, Natrel, iOGO) (20)

Delivery Services – Purolator (42)

Financial Services – Interac (11)

Electronics and AV Equipment – Canon (6)

Food and Drug Retailers – Costco (3)

Gas Stations – Petro-Canada (151)

Hotels – Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (8)

Household Care – Palmolive (44)

Insurance – Sun Life (116)

Media – Global TV (26)

Packaged Foods – President’s Choice (1)

Personal and Beauty Care – Band-Aid (9)

Pet Food – Purina (187)

Restaurants/Takeout – Tim Hortons (47)

Retailers (Other) – MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) (1)

Soft Drinks/Juices/Waters – Canada Dry (34)

Sportswear – Columbia Sportswear (9)

Technology – Google (26)

Telecoms/Cable – TELUS (230)

Transportation – WestJet (54)

Travel – TripAdvisor (112)

The full ranking can be found online. (PDF)

How does a business or a product gain your trust?