Summary: The Great Trust Offensive

In the article The Great Trust Offensive, the author explains how large of a factor trust has become in the world of branding. People have not only lost faith in banks, but in all business in the past few years. In fact, only 44% of all Americans say they trust business, a number that is down 12% from the fall of 2007. Trust in a company and its product is what consumers look for when making a purchase. Without consumer belief, business', such as McDonald's and Ford, have had to find new ways to reach people. McDonald's now uses money that was previously spent on advertising to focus on how it sources food. Meanwhile, Ford has completely made over their ads, now centering around themes, such as new technology and fuel economy. It seems to have worked well for both companies, with McDonald's improving the value of it's brand and overall image and consumers spending an average of $1,300 more on Ford models. Trust and reputation must once again become the focus of companies trying to succeed in today's difficult economic climate.