Amazon is the most authentic brand in the United States, according to a report from communications agency Cohn & Wolfe.
The company took the top honors in the "2017 Authentic Brands" study, followed by PayPal and Burt's Bees. The study is part of the agency's annual global consumer survey on the role of authenticity in business, with Amazon taking the number one spot not only in the U.S., but also in Cohn & Wolfe's global study.
The agency ranked companies according to their scores on research and surveys answered by more than 15,000 consumers across 15 markets. Consumers rated more than 1,400 brands on the three key attributes that make up authenticity, according to Cohn & Wolfe. These were: "reliability," "respectfulness," and "reality."
Authenticity is increasingly important to consumers. 91% of consumers globally indicated that they were willing to reward a brand for its authenticity by making a purchase, investment or an endorsement in 2017, according to the report. In the U.S., 62% of respondents said that would either purchase or be interested in purchasing from a brand that they viewed as authentic.
"Typically, people equate authenticity with heritage, believing that having an established, values-driven reputation is enough to prove yourself in the eyes of consumers. It's not," said Lynn Fisher, EVP and global director of the Branding & Insights Group at Cohn & Wolfe. "While many of the brands topping our United States index this year have an established history, they also continuously demonstrate a commitment to innovation."
The report found that consumer cynicism also increased in 2017 as compared to 2016, with only one in five consumers who were surveyed saying that they believed that brands "stay true to their purpose." Further, only 16% of US consumers found brands to be "open and honest" - a 7% decrease from last year.
Scroll below to see the top 20 most authentic brands in the US.
