People always believe that their ideal brands can provide a sense of trust, integrity, and authenticity. However, according to the "2017 Global Brand Relevance Report" released by Golin, a subsidiary of Interpublic Group, the research on the most relevant brands found that the ability to meet people's ideal pursuit of "trustworthiness" is almost nonexistent. Even the leading brands in their respective industries do not necessarily evoke a sense of trust.

In addition to uncovering interesting insights into macro trends in consumer insights, the report primarily focuses on researching the social media, commercial banking, and automotive industries. These three industries, which are closely tied to billions of people every day, have revealed some unexpected findings.

HUMANS have lost to Screens, It is True

In China, news websites, social media, and television rank as the top three channels with the highest relevance to the public, with percentages of 64%, 50%, and 49% respectively, surpassing the proportion of information passed through word of mouth from friends or family (39%). 

Among Chinese women, there is a preference for obtaining information from social media, while men lean towards traditional sources and exhibit a higher reliance on news websites compared to social media and television. 

Don't assume that young people only know about bullet screens, gaming, and anime all day long. Their interests and knowledge span far wider than you might imagine—it's just a matter of finding common ground to engage with them. Sports brands that still classify women in a secondary category should wake up. Women's interest in sports is much greater than you think. Another unconventional perception is that men's attention to fashion and beauty topics is not lower than that of women, making it a market with limitless potential.

Sports brands that still classify women in a secondary category should wake up. Women's interest in sports is much greater than you think. Another unconventional perception is that men's attention to fashion and beauty topics is not lower than that of women, making it a market with limitless potential.

Brand relevance research method:
Golin conducts a comprehensive analysis of brand relevance from two perspectives: macro (brand relevance overview) and micro (brand relevance matching map).
At the macro level, a specific algorithm is employed to outline the relative relevance of different brands within the same industry for specific target audiences. 

At the micro level, the brand relevance matching map showcases each brand's performance across 15 relevance dimensions and relevance coefficients. These 15 dimensions were derived through a three-year collaboration between Golin and the renowned Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC), where over 100 relevance dimensions were tested to identify the 15 dimensions with the strongest positive correlation to consumers. The data also visualizes the brand relevance perception of the target audience, allowing brands to clearly identify the gap between themselves and the "ideal brand" in consumers' minds.

Trends in Chinese consumers' perception of brand relevance:
From the report, it is evident that the Chinese public perceives social media's dimension of "essentiality" to be far higher than the global average, indicating that social media's importance in China is on par with water and air. While the world talks about "popularity," Chinese consumers' emphasis on "high-end" is beyond imagination. The Chinese public can certainly be described as "social animals."

According to the report, the Chinese public perceives a much higher level of importance for the relevance dimension of social media compared to the global average. It seems that the significance of social media in China is on par with that of water and air.

Intheresearch conductedontheautomotiveindustry,Chinese women and young people exhibit a significantly higher level of innovativeness and cotemporariness compared to the average and male respondenrts.Their ideal trends in automotive brands align closely with automotive enthusiasts.

Apart from trustworthiness, Chinese women prioritize more on the relevance dimension when it comes to their ideal commercial banks. This implies that they are more cautious in their choices. Notably, there are distinct differences from Chinese men in terms of popularity, influence, and transparency.

Banking enterprises planning to expand beyond China and enter the global market should take note. While trustworthiness is highly valued by the public, leading banking brands in Germany and Mexico have achieved success by focusing on innovation and popularity. Opportunities to captivate consumers are everywhere.

Jonathan Hughes, Co-CEO of Highpoint PR, pointed out that relevance is the foundation for brands to attract and sustain people's attention, motivating them to take action. As professionals in the marketing and communications industry, this is where we can make a direct impact. Our extensive research and analysis on brand relevance underscore its significance as the most important indicator for evaluating a brand. Despite people's continuous disappointment in brand credibility and authenticity, our research data shows that they still persist in purchasing products or services from those brands.