Bangkok--8 Jun--Vivaldi Public Relations
Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Survey 2011 (the “Survey”) reveals that more than half (53%) of Thailand respondents will reconsider a brand within the FIRST year after a product quality scandal, provided an immediate fix of the issue was performed by brand owners. Among the eight Asian markets surveyed, Thailand ranks second on speed of consumer trust recovery, whilst the most tolerant market to product quality scandal is Taiwan, with 60 percent ready to reconsider the brand within ONE year. The least forgiving are Malaysia, India and the Philippines, where only 32-33 percent would reconsider the brand within a year.
The Survey, in its 13th consecutive year, is one of the most representative and transparent consumer surveys in Asia, with trusted brand results brought about solely by consumers’ unsolicited brand recall opinion and attribute scoring. Carried out in October 2010, 8,000 respondents were interviewed in Asia with 1,000 of them from Thailand. Conducted by Synovate, one of the world’s top custom research firms, the Survey provides valuable insights into the decision making process of consumers, while at the same time seeks to give due recognition to outstanding market performers.
“This year, we uncovered interesting results on the issue of regaining brand trust after a crisis or incident. We feel it is invaluable to provide a platform for consumers to express their views and preferences, and our annual survey provides a powerful message to household brands about what consumers want,” explains Christopher Axberg, Managing Director, Asia, Reader’s Digest.
When asked how long it would take for respondents to reconsider purchasing from a brand after a product quality scandal, 74 percent of Thailand respondents will reconsider the brand within THREE years if the brand offered an immediate fix to the issue. The survey indicates there is definitely value in having a current and effective crisis management plan in place for all types of brand.
Take a closer look also at the results by age — The post-80s generation tends to regain trust quicker than other age groups, while respondents aged 50 and over take longest to regain confidence — 30 percent of them would never consider the brand again, compared to only 15 percent of the post-80s group who would never consider the brand again. However there is no significant attitude different between two gender groups towards the brands suffered from product scandal. Both sex respondents take the same time to regain brand confidence (54 percent for males and 52 percent of females would reconsider a brand in less than ONE year).
Burim Otakanon, Program Chair of Marketing at College of Management, Mahidol University, said “To recover from a broken brand promise is not such an easy task. The real recovery is not what your company feels about your brand rehabilitation, but it’s really a matter of whether customers perceive new value in your brand, which is worth the restoration of their trust. And if trust justifies a sustainability of a brand, to have fairness in trade would be a critical part of any brand DNA in this world. Reading from the Reader’s Digest research, I am delighted to know that Thai consumers earn the highest awareness of Fair Trade amongst countries in Asia.”
With the flourishing popularity of fair trade practices globally, it is surprising to find that 58 percent of Thai respondents DO NOT KNOW what a fair trade product is, with only 42 percent of respondents claiming to understand the concept. However, further analysis of the results reveals that Thailand actually the highest awareness of fair trade amongst all Asia markets in the survey.
Upon understanding the free trade concept, 74 percent of respondents said they would be prepared to pay a price hike for fair trade products, and are willing to pay an average of 6.8 percent premium to “go fair.”
Survey Highlights:
1. There are a total of 109 winners in Thailand’s Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Survey 2011, 52 of which are local Thailand brands.
2. 74 percent of consumers in Thailand will reconsider the brand within three years if the brand can fix the issue almost immediately after a product quality scandal.
3. The Post-80s generation tend to regain trust of a brand faster.
4. 58 percent of consumers do not understand what a “Fair Trade Consumer Product” is.
5. The most trusted television host in News/Current Affairs: Sorayut Sutatsanajinda; Entertainment/ Variety: Panya nirunkool.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Vivaldi Public Relations
Pattaranit Imampai (Poom)
Office: +66 02 612 2253 ext 107
Fax: +66 02 612 2254
Email:
[email protected]
Pilaiwan Sipyok
Office : +66 02 612 2253 ext 105
Fax : +66 02 612 2254
Email:
[email protected]