The Most “Trusted” Brands in 2012

According to an annual survey conducted by Reader’s Digest Canada, the following are the “Most Trusted Brands in 2012.” Brands on this list are winners of their respective product categories, which are listed below in parentheses.

• Sun Life Financial (Life insurance company)
• Toyota, Ford & Honda (Passenger car manufacturer)
• Toyota (Hybrid car manufacturer)
• Jamieson (Calcium supplement)
• TD Canada Trust (Bank / trust company)
• Kellogg’s (Breakfast cereal)
• Yoplait (Yogurt)
• Quaker (Snack bars)
• Tropicana & Oasis (Fruit juice)
• Dempster’s (Sandwich bread)
• Maple Leaf Foods (Packaged meats)
• Gatorade (Sport/energy drink)
• President's Choice (Store brand from a grocery chain)
• Coppertone (Sunscreen skin protection product)
• Aveeno (Body lotion)
• Clairol & L’Oréal (Hair colouring)
• Olay (Anti-aging skin care)
• Sensodyne (Sensitive toothpaste)
• Crest (Teeth whitening)
• Abreva (Cold sore remedy)
• Buckley’s (Cough/cold remedy)
• Tylenol (Pain reliever)
• Claritin, Reactine & Benadryl (Allergy relief)
• Apple/ iPhone (Smart phone)
• Sony (Home entertainment)
• Michelin (Tires)
• Iams (Pet food)
• Febreze (Air freshener)
• Dyson (Vacuum cleaner)

Although the list names some typical brands one would expect to see, such as Apple, Kellogg’s, or TD, the grouping of products seems very arbitrary with no reasoning to explain why these product categories were selected and voted upon in the first place. Why list a winning bank but no credit card , bread but no butter, fruit juice but no soft drink?

Which really gets one thinking – what is the point of this survey? Apparently, 49% of Canadians trust a product more with the ‘Trusted Brand Seal’ and 44% are more likely to purchase a product with the same seal. With no rhyme or reason behind category selection, who’s to say companies aren’t paying to have themselves included in order to benefit from the seal?

Seems like the type of study that might make people skeptical of research.