Issued by: Brands & Branding


But amid all this, there is at least one ray of sunshine that seems to prove that the majority of South Africans still believe ‘local is lekker' - at least when it comes to brands.

Twelve of the Top 20 most trusted brands identified in some recent research are homegrown, while six of these feature in the Top 10.

This is according to the Brand Trust Index, which was developed by Affinity Publishing in conjunction with Ipsos Markinor, for the 2007 Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding. The survey on which the index is based was conducted as part of Ipsos Markinor's 2007 National M-Bus, and involves face-to-face interviews with 3 500 South African adults. The results track the ‘trust performance' across 19 brand categories to create an overall Brand Trust Index - an invaluable tool for brand managers who know that consumer trust can make a brand, while distrust can break it.

Affinity Publishing's Ken Preston believes that this trend to trust local is an outward expression of the deep-seated connection that South Africans have with their country.

“Despite the problems we are facing the vast majority of South Africans have a very strong bond with their country. It's something they feel in their soul.

“I think particularly for those who have stuck it out, through thick and thin, and stay here determined to be part of the solution, home is a very strong and emotive word.”

The local brands represented in the Top 20 - which include the likes of Tastic, Ace, Koo, All Gold, SABC 1, White Star, Iwisa, Huletts and Vodacom all have a strong South African heritage and South African souls.

“While I'm sure that poll respondents didn't consciously think ‘this is a South African brand, therefore I trust it', I'm also convinced that the brand heritage played a subconscious role in their choice,” says Preston.

It is also his belief that, because these brands are South African born and bred, they understand South Africans, and speak South African when communicating with their customers. This is particularly true of brands such as Ace and Vodacom, which trade heavily on their South Africanness.

The subconscious recognition of a brand that understands ‘me', results in an innate trust of that brand.

Can we infer from this survey that there is an innate mistrust then, of international brands and brand messaging?

“No,” says Preston, “as evidenced by the presence of global icons such as the Coca-Cola and Nokia - both of which trade heavily on their global status. But to see both of these pipped at the post by a brand such as Tastic, which notched up trust levels of 80 - 81%, is extremely heartening for the local branding community.”

He concludes that it would be “very interesting” in future research to see how local government fares in the trust stakes. In an international study conducted by Unisys in 2006, for example, the UK local government emerged as the second most trusted entity in that country.

“But perhaps we'll leave this particular study for another year!” he says.

Here is a list of the top 100. Please bear in mind that the 19 categories surveyed do not encompass the total universe of brands in South Africa, but are an indicative cross-section.


TOP 100 TRUST BRANDS 2007

1	Discovery Channel	51	Bar One
2	Tastic	52	PS
3	Nokia	53	Sowetan
4	Ace	54	Volkswagen
5	KOO	55	BP
6	All Gold	56	Discovery Health
7	Kellogg's	57	FNB/First National Bank
8	SABC1	58	KIC
9	White Star	59	Lunch Bar
10	Cadbury's/Cadbury's Dairy Milk	60	Nando's
11	Iwisa	61	Steers
12	Coca-Cola	62	Sunday Tribune
13	Huletts	63	Beacon
14	SuperSport (1,2,3)	64	Sanlam
15	Vodacom	65	Wimpy
16	Cadbury Bars	66	Bradlows
17	Movie Magic	67	Chicken Licken
18	Joko	68	Daily Sun
19	KFC	69	Huisgenoot
20	LG Electronic Appliances	70	Ithala
21	Die Burger	71	Morkels
22	e-TV	72	Philips
23	Geen & Richards	73	Die Burger Saterdag
24	BMW	74	M-Net
25	Defy	75	SABC2
26	DStv (unspecified)	76	Telkom
27	Mercedes	77	McDonald's
28	Spur Steak Ranches	78	Nissan
29	Toyota	79	Sparletta
30	Lucky Star	80	Sprite
31	Absa	81	True Love & Family
32	Isolezwe	82	Drum
33	Liqui-Fruit	83	Motorola
34	Samsung Electrical Applicances	84	Opel
35	Samsung Cellphones	85	SABC3
36	Llanga	86	Shell
37	Kick Off	87	Sunday Times
38	Old Mutual	88	Tedelex
39	Kelvinator	89	Telefunken
40	Nestlé	90	The Star
41	Panasonic	91	Caltex
42	People Magazine	92	Daily News
43	Rapport	93	Fanta
44	SABC (unspecified)	94	Sasol
45	Sansui	95	Sunday Sun
46	Standard Bank	96	Car Magazine
47	Debonair's Pizza	97	Engen
48	MTN	98	Hungry Lion
49	Appletiser	99	Kit Kat
50	Audi	100	Metropolitan (Life)

Categories Surveyed:

Banks

Beers

Cars

Cellphones

Chocolates

Daily Newspapers

Electronic and Electrical goods for home use

Fast Food and Restaurant Chains

Furniture Stores

Insurance Companies - Short Term

Insurance Companies - Long Term

Magazines

Medical Aids

Pantry/Dry Foods

Petrol

Soft/Cool Drinks and Fruit Juices

Telecommunications Providers

TV Stations

Weekly Newspapers

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Affinity Publishing has an established reputation for producing high quality “benchmark” books on Branding, Advertising, Design and now Renewal and Development in Johannesburg. The flagship Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding is going into its 14th edition in 2008 and is regarded as South Africa's leading brand knowledge resource.The 2nd volume of Joburg! “Towards 2010” is being compiled and is due for release in September 2008.- more....

[14 May 2008 15:13]

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