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Consumers use purchasing power as a weapon

Forty-four percent of consumers would punish companies they deemed irresponsible, according to new research by Havas Media.

The research revealed that only 20% of brands have a notable positive impact on the consumer sense of wellbeing and quality of life, and most consumers wouldn’t care if 70% of brands ceased to exist.

According to Havas Media’s Meaningful Brand Index (MBi), which is based on the views of 50,000 people in 14 countries, Ikea is the number one global brand, followed by Google, Nestlé and Danone.

Eighty percent of brands are failing to improve a consumer’s personal wellbeing and quality of life. This presents a huge opportunity for brands in the FMCG, retail, IT and consumer electronics sectors. Financial, utility and telecoms brands, however, are considered to be underperforming.

The automotive and public transport sectors showed the greatest improvement in having a positive impact on a consumer’s sense of collective wellbeing, notably Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota and Peugeot, driven by greater environmental and product innovation.

Other key findings from the research showed that 85% of consumers across the globe expect companies to become actively involved in solving these issues and 51% are prepared to reward responsible companies by purchasing their products. By contrast, only 28% think that companies today are working hard enough to solve social and environmental challenges.

Research suggests that the next generation of brands will come from emerging economies where consumers have a stronger relationship with brands. In Latin America 30% of brands are considered to make a positive impact on consumer lives, compared with 8% in Europe and 5% in the US.

“It’s clear from our analysis that we need to take a new look at the relationship between brands and consumers,” said Havas Media Intelligence chief executive Hernan Sanchez Neira. “Nowadays we want so much more from brands than just promises or stories. Brands that manage to create better relationships dominate the marketplace. There’s a big business opportunity for brands who are able to satisfy consumers by creating wellbeing in the context of their new values, expectations and local market realities.”

Top 20 global brands

Jenni Baker, London