The July 2009 issue of Reader’s Digest Australia contains their annual “Most Trusted Brands” survey.

For the sixth year in a row, Cadbury comes out on top.  Panadol and Band-Aid are #2 and #3.

The rest of the top 10 are…

…Sony, Colgate, Dairy Farmers, Nokia, Johnson & Johnson, Streets, Peters and Bunnings.

Not too much change in the 2009 Top 10 from last year…

…Kellogg’s and Elastoplast drop out, replaced by Peters and Bunnings.

Looking through the categories, interesting to note that in the Retailers section Bunnings is the winner with Target and Big W the runners up.  No mention of Woolworths or Coles (the biggest supermarkets) or David Jones or Myer (department stores).

So what’s it take to be a trusted brand?

“Stay free from scandal, be reliable, safe and deliver on promises”

…according to the article.  Nothing earth shattering there, but well worth noting for all marketers.

In direct response marketing, we don’t have the luxury of being able to throw big money into advertising campaigns (although that’s no guarantee of success as the absence of many of Australia’s biggest advertisers demonstrates).

But we are in the business of building a relationship and trust with our prospects and clients.  So. well worth paying attention to those companies that are successful in doing this.

UPDATE:

Here’s what I had to say about last year’s poll…

“Some Direct Response Marketing Lessons From Big Brands”