Study: Customers Reward Brands With Attitude

In its study "Brand Purpose in Times of the Corona Crisis", the international data provider YouGov analyzed the benefits of brand attitude in the eyes of consumers in Germany. The result: The majority of consumers have a positive attitude towards positioning brands. Two thirds (66 percent) think that brands should be able to communicate their views on a topic. And almost as many (65 percent) say that they like brands that are willing to address social issues.

According to the study, consumers particularly value honesty (66 percent) and trustworthiness (62 percent) when communicating. These qualities are significantly more important than, for example, a sense of humor (23 percent).

However, a figure also shows how important it really is to harmonise communication and action. After all, the majority of Germans (53 percent) fully or rather agree with the statement "Brands that express views on political or social issues only try to exploit them". Here the numbers show: the older and more masculine the consumers, the more scepticism.

As a case study for discrepancy between communication of a brand and its actions, YouGov cites the March 2020 Adidas rent deferral scandal. According to the study, the German-language internet buzz around Adidas has clearly slipped from positive to negative perception since the reporting of non-payment of rent by Adidas stores in the wake of the Corona crisis at the end of March. It was not until the end of May that Adidas struggled to regain positive perception on the German-language social media.