Reader's Digest's Trusted Brands 2005 survey is not solely confined to the brands the British trust, but also looks at the attitudes of consumers across Europe. In addition to the 2249 UK consumers surveyed, more than 22,000 took part from 13 other European countries. The results have been compiled in a table of those brands that scored highly in their category among consumers across several European markets.
International brands tended to dominate. For example, Visa is the most-trusted credit card (rather than Barclaycard in the UK) and Shell, rather than Tesco, wins in petrol retail. In most categories, more than one brand topped polls across Europe, but in two categories just one brand dominated - Nokia in mobiles and Beiersdorf's Nivea in skincare.
So what makes a brand trusted pan-regionally? How difficult is it to build trust given cultural differences, and how does trust sit in the global versus local marketing debate?
Tom Farrand, a director at brand consultancy Added Value, says that in categories where a single brand name is trusted, there is a strong functional product element to those that have won. Nokia, for example, scores highly because it delivers 'an operating system and image that people are comfortable with'. And Nivea 'has a strong image of dermatological support that meets consumer needs'.
Service brands
In service-based categories, no one brand dominated in more than three countries. Farrand believes service brands find it difficult to translate across regions, perhaps because of cultural issues. An example is when Egg failed in France. 'It went in with the same positioning and ads that worked well in the UK, but the French have a different relationship with credit. It didn't tailor the local offer to the local population,' he says.
It may be especially hard in some categories for brands to build trust across markets. For instance, food brands must cater for local tastes. This explains why Unilever's food business operates a system of marketing its so-called 'local jewels', such as Marmite, which have high levels of trust in one country, alongside bigger international brands.
In contrast, in the soap powder category, it is easier to achieve trust with a single mega-brand, and Persil and Ariel topped the Trust survey in more than three countries.
Building trust
In general, the focus of the Trusted Brands survey across Europe was on big, established brands, rather than challenger products. This is not to say the latter do not travel well - Farrand believes that brands such as eBay and Amazon have generated high levels of pan-regional trust.
However, Michael Wilmott, co-founder and director of the Future Foundation, argues that being international 'adds gravitas'. If people see a brand's ads abroad, they may think it is more reliable. 'A brand's weight and visibility in different countries may help it to build pan-regional trust,' he says.
Brands that want international trust cannot simply rely on scale and functionality. Nivea topped the survey in the skincare category in all 14 countries, making it only the second brand to win a 'clean sweep' across Europe. Its improved position reflects innovation by the brand, combined with efforts to build its emotional relationship with consumers.
'Nivea has invested heavily in its masterbrand,' says Interbrand chairman Rita Clifton, 'and overlaid its original image with new ranges and glamorous ads.'
Farrand agrees. 'People may have different needs, but Nivea owns 'care' when it comes to skincare,' he says. 'Brands that do the best across borders deliver well across functional elements and offer an emotional relevance.'
TOP MULTI-COUNTRY BRANDS 2005
Category Winning Brands winning in more
brands* than three countries
Mobile phones 1 Nokia
Skincare 1 Nivea
Credit card 2 Visa
Camera 5 Canon
PC maker 5 IBM, Dell, HP
Toothpaste 6 Colgate, Odol
Cosmetics 7 Avon, Nivea
Soap powder 7 Ariel, Persil
Car 8 Mercedes, Opel
Haircare 8 Pantene, L'Oreal
Kitchen appliance 10 Miele
Pain relief 11 Aspirin
Petrol retailer 11 Shell
Soft drink 11 Coca-Cola
Vitamins 11 Centrum
Cold remedy 13 n/a
Holidays 13 n/a
Insurance 13 n/a
Internet 13 n/a
Bank/building society 14 n/a
Source: Reader's Digest
*Number of different winning brands across Europe
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