Keeping The Bastards Honest

First Published In: B&T Magazine Date: January 19, 2007 Author: Camille Alarcon Comment by: Karl Treacher

Australian marketers have been warned a lack of honesty will result in a fall in market share as consumers defect to rival brands. A survey of consumers conducted by ad agency Onion Communications has found that honesty was one of seven "must-have" values when considering brands.

And Pathfinder Strategies MD, Keith Sentis, this week told B&T that his own agency's brand modelling has suggested that investments in improving a brand's perceived honesty can achieve a high ROI, while investing in other areas of a brand's image can be a waste of money.

"This was true across a range of categories, including automotive, financial services, snack foods, beverages, industrials and professional services in B2B contexts," he said.

Brand Behaviour chief executive Karl Treacher believes Australian consumers take the issue of authenticity more seriously than their British or American counterparts. "While marketing and communications strategies in those countries are more based on manipulation rather than stating the truth or stating it well, Australians want the truth."

"The collective minds of Americans are conditioned to being sold to," Treacher said.

He added that Australians haven't shared such a mindset since the 1980s, when Australia was still suffering from the cultural cringe and America was considered an ally by the general public.

There is little consensus on this issue, however, with Sentis saying that its own research has not found a marked difference between Australian and overseas consumers.

The Onion survey found that while 19.4% of respondents rated honesty as the top Australian value, open-mindedness was important (16.9%), followed by larrikinism (15.6%).

Onion managing partner, Richard Patterson said honesty and integrity are must-have values for personalities, politicians, companies and brands if they are to connect with average Australians in the long term.

"There are inherent dangers for those who don't. Honesty is a key pillar of any relationship and brands that seem dishonest or act improperly are heading for a train wreck," Patterson said.

Another driver of corporate honesty has been the growth of the internet and the way it puts power into the hands of the consumer. "The web is forcing people to be more honest. If they're not, news spreads quickly," Patterson said.

Perhaps a good example has been the negative publicity Coke Zero attracted last year when it created a 'flog' (a fake blog).

Luckily, it has managed to grow share over the past year despite the shaky start. However, other brands are not so lucky. Treacher said banks and telcos in particular need to be very careful when making promises.

"Vodafone was looking good for a long time but flipped when it had a change in management who broke a lot of promises. Bakers Delight is strong because it's perceived to deliver on promises, and that's really all companies need do," Treacher said.