New sustainably perception index launched

Tech and media brands reign top of a new sustainably perception index from brand tracking firm Latana, with Discovery hitting the top spot for the second year running. Other top tech/media firms, Netflix, Google, and Spotify, came in #5, #6, and #9 respectively.

20,000 people from 11 countries were surveyed on their perceptions of 100 brands in June 2020 for a larger report on the environmental and social impacts of a brand’s sustainability and its impact on the community.

The aim of the report was to share insight into one of the most pressing issues of our time that can impact brand performance.

Latana: Perception index highlights companies social impact 

“People associate the brand with nature”, is the reason given for the success of Discovery with consumers. However, tech brands such as Amazon (#64) and Slack (#74) didn’t perform as well, with the low performance for them and other tech/media brands cited as being a result of bad press around manufacturing processes and a strong association with the business industry.

This low performance brought the average placement for tech brands to #41, with media alone faring much better at #15. Yet, it doesn’t prevent tech/media from coming our number one as a whole.

Digging deep into consumer perceptions, Latana found that in general, tech/media brands are perceived as more sustainable by men than by women.

Looking at the performance of tech/media brands solely from the perception of men would rise the industry places higher in the index to #39, the sole perception of women brings a decrease to position #45.

The perception of tech/media brands also differed when it came to age, more so when gender was considered. 25-39-year-olds perception of tech/media brands brings the industry index placement right up to #14.

The Sustainability Perception Index also carved out specific sustainability-based niche audiences that can be a driving force for different brands.

For the tech/media industry, Enthusiastic Experts (slightly older than Gen Y and Gen Z, live rurally, medium/high education) and Rationalists both find tech/media brands to be attractively sustainable, while Innovators are more skeptical about the industry.

Beyond the ranking of the 100 brands, the index also delves into consumer thoughts on the general importance of sustainability when choosing a brand.

Sustainability was a proven factor in influencing purchasing decisions, with 66% of those surveyed indicating that sustainability is important when buying brands, and 51% of respondents stating that they would pay more for a sustainable product.

Of the 51%, there was no major difference between those earring a low income and those earning a higher income.

The recent COVID-19 outbreak also played a part in how sustainable consumers expect brands to be, with 61% of respondents believing that sustainability will become even more important after the pandemic.

Surprisingly, this opinion is held to higher esteem by those whose income has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

About the author

Joy Corkery is a Content Marketing Lead at Latana with over 7 years of marketing experience, helping brands grow by sharing tech and marketing insights.

Aside from being a skilled writer, Joy is also a massive book lover. You can connect with her Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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