65 Per Cent of UAE consumers Prefer to Buy From A Company Perceived to be more "Authentic" than others

"Authentic Brands" by Cohn & Wolfe shows consumer anger rising around the world

87% of global consumers say it's important for brands to 'act with integrity at all times', making it more essential than innovation (72%)

Carrefour, DEWA, Du, Etisalat, Emirates, McDonalds, Samsung and Spinneys among top 20 most authentic brands in the UAE

Dubai, 2 February, 2015:  Nearly nine in 10 UAE consumers (86%) say it is important for businesses to act with integrity at all times, with a similar number looking for companies to bring unique products to the market (85%) and surpassing the number who rate striving to innovate (80%) as factors in their buying decisions.

The third Authentic Brands report from global communications agency Cohn & Wolfe canvassed the opinions of 12,000 consumers across 12 markets, including for the first time the UAE, to examine the corporate behaviours valued in an authentic brand, as well as explore the inauthentic behaviours and corporate issues that were most likely to incite extreme anger.

Commenting at its launch in the UAE, BPG Group CEO Avi Bhojani said: "The launch by BPG Cohn & Wolfe of this report is part of a growing number of thought leadership initiatives that our Group is introducing to the region and comes just 10 days after the successful 365 Creative Technology conference held by BPG Maxus."

A key insight from the Authentic Brands survey has been how being authentic is the ultimate crisis preparedness for brands, says Nitin Puri, CEO BPG Cohn & Wolfe.  "No brand is immune to crisis, but we have seen again and again that those brands that act with honesty and integrity will recover faster and emerge stronger and that is as true in the UAE as anywhere else in the world."

Global anger reaches boiling point

Following a year of high-profile data security breaches, product recalls and food contamination scares from a number of well-known brands, consumers across some of the world's biggest markets have reported a significant rise in anger about perceived dishonesty from global businesses.

"We have seen a number of household brands recently caught out by supply chain issues, which has created a culture of suspicion among individuals," says Professor Ioannis Ioannou, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School and advisor on the Authentic Brands study.  "Some of this extreme anger can also be explained by the proximity effect.  People feel strongest about issues that touch them directly and food safety is a clear-cut example of this."

Now in its third edition, Authentic Brands includes a Global Anger Meter that examines how angry consumers are if companies fail to maintain the highest standards of quality in areas including food, product reliability, data, environment and animal welfare, staff welfare, pricing policies and how firms communicate to their consumers.

In the UAE the report found that food was the top of the "Anger Meter" but that otherwise the country displayed lower than average levels of anger.  The report was launched at an event hosted by Dubai-headquartered BPG Group and its specialist PR company BPG Cohn & Wolfe that was attended by business leaders from across the UAE.

Officially launching the Authentic Brands study in Dubai, Cohn & Wolfe's Global Head of Corporate Communications and author of the report Geoff Beattie said: "It is clear that UAE consumers share the universal demand for more authentic behaviours from brands.  However, out of the 12 countries we surveyed, it was UAE consumers who are more likely to recommend a more authentic company than anywhere else in the world.

"Like other high-growth markets, UAE consumers have a much higher demand for innovation, unique products and exciting brands, yet, as a market the UAE also presents the best opportunity for in our 12-market study for authentic story- telling."

Geoff Beattie was also part of a lively and engaging panel discussion during the launch event with representatives from what have been identified as three of the most authentic brands in the UAE - Carrefour Middle East CEO Frank WItek; du CEO Osman Sultan and Emirates Airline and Group Senior Vice President Boutrous M. Boutrous.

With a young population that is brand-savvy and very technologically aware it was little surprise that bringing unique ideas and products to the market was important to 86% of those in the UAE compared to a global average of 71%.  Research among the 18-30 "Millennials" in the UAE reinforced this with trends among this group reflecting those of the wider respondents.

The country's love of brands is also demonstrated that 66% of those in the UAE think that having a relevant and engaging story is important - a substantial increase on a global average of 43%.

Authenticity Anchors

In line with the findings of the Global Anger Meter, the Cohn & Wolfe study revealed a clear and universal demand for more authentic behaviours from brands. Identifying a number of 'Authenticity Anchors', business behaviours important to consumers, the report found that in characteristics such as communicating honestly about products and services (90%), being open about environmental impact and sustainability measures (87%) and acting with integrity (86%) are more important to UAE consumers than accurately reporting earnings (68%) or product utility (66%).

The report found that individuals around the world are more likely to stay loyal and buy from brands that displayed these Authenticity Anchors: 65% of UAE consumers would buy from an authentic brand over and above competitors. 

Authenticity could also affect customer retention with 68% of UAE consumers saying they would be loyal to a more authentic company.  Meanwhile 66% said they would recommend an authentic company over others and 39% would follow a more authentic company on social media - compared to the global average of less than 20%. 

The World's and the UAE's Most Authentic Brands 

Authentic Brands 2014 asked the 12,000 people surveyed to name - unprompted - the world's most authentic companies. McDonald's, Samsung and Apple topped the Global Top 20 list of brands chosen, but local brands scored very well in each country surveyed. 

Here in the UAE Carrefour, Etisalat and Samsung topped the list of 20 brands named when 1,000 residents were asked to name - unprompted - about the country's most authentic companies.  The full list of the most authentic 20 companies in alphabetical order are Apple; Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank; Carrefour; DEWA; Dubai Islamic Bank; Du; Emirates Airline; Emirates NBD; Etihad Airways; Etisalat; LG; KFC; Lulu; Nokia; McDonald's; Samsung; Sharaf DG; Sony; Spinneys and Starbucks.

About the report
This is the third report in the Cohn & Wolfe Authentic Brands series, which examines the role of authenticity in business, the attributes associated with an authentic brand, and the impact of authenticity on consumer, investor and employee attitudes and behaviours.

Methodology

The report is based on quantitative and qualitative research of 12,000 respondents across 12 markets: China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Sweden, UAE, UK and U.S.  The study was conducted online by leading research company Toluna in July 2014.

The results were then interrogated by a number of business, branding and market experts:

Adam Elman, Head of Global Delivery for Plan A, Marks & Spencer

Iaonnis Ioannou, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, London Business School

Jim Prior, CEO of WPP-owned brand consultancies The Partners and Lambie Nairn

Sue Unerman, Chief Strategy Officer, MediaCom, and author of Tell The Truth

About BPG Cohn & Wolfe
Delivering PR services across the region for the past 20 years, BPG became part of the global Cohn & Wolfe network in May 2013.  The company provides senior strategic counsel, corporate communications, public relations and social media services to clients in the public and private sector across the Middle East from offices in Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Kuwait and Beirut with an affiliate in Muscat. The company is a part of the integrated marketing communications BPG Group that also comprises BPG Bates; BPG Maxus and BPG Possible.

The full Authentic Brands report can be downloaded at www.batespangulf.com/authenticbrands

To find out more, contact:
Andrea Lopes/Sanaa Khadir
BPG Cohn & Wolfe
Tel: 00 9714 2953456
Email: authenticity@bpgcohnwolfe.com

© Press Release 2015