Whittakers, Mitre 10, Trade Me and Earthwise top the tables in the Kiwi Brand Reputation Index

NZ Consumers Kiwi Brand Reputation
Friday, July 24, 2020

The latest research from consumer insight agency, Opinion Compare, has found Whittakers, Trade Me, Mitre 10 and Earthwise to be the most reputable Kiwi brands according to their inaugural Brand Reputation Index.

Gavin Male, CEO of Opinion Compare, said the company surveyed over 1,000 Kiwis in early July to evaluate 48 brands and measure how the New Zealand population view and evaluate a brand’s reputation. 

“This first wave of research sets the benchmark of not only how brands perform in the eyes of the typical Kiwi, but what are the specific elements that drive brand reputation.”

The overall measurement is derived from a series of brand measures deemed to influence a brand's good reputation, including brand love, brand purpose, corporate social responsibility and much more.

Whittakers came in first place for overall brand reputation, Trade Me took out the top spot for brand purpose, while Mitre 10 was recognised for their overall reputation and performance in last 6 months and Earthwise for corporate social responsibility – a key driver in overall reputation.

Trade Me CEO Anders Skoe said, “For 21 years, we’ve worked hard to provide a platform which Kiwis love, trust and find valuable. We’re much more than a place to buy and sell or find a job, we’ve always set out to connect New Zealanders and to be a vital part of their lives. We’re stoked to be recognised for our purpose.”

Earthwise Managing Director & Owner Jamie Peters commented “At Earthwise we believe effective cleaning doesn’t need to cost the earth.  Creating affordable household cleaning and personal care products that are better for people and the world they live in.  Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, reusing and diverting 500 tonnes of plastic from landfills over the last 18 months is a testament to that.  We’re pleased Earthwise, is one of New Zealand’s most trusted and loved Kiwi brands.”

Mr Male said the reputation of a brand has been proven to link to return on investment so knowing the levers to increase this, can give brands an edge over the competition.

“Our inaugural Brand Reputation Index is an incredibly powerful piece of research for brands to learn where they are today as well as what they need to do tomorrow. When breaking down elements of what drives a good reputation in New Zealand, there’s some interesting variations in brand performance.”

“In addition to the overall index, we captured how sentiment changed in the last six months. It was fascinating to see how Air New Zealand performed.  They are still in the top 10 brands overall, but are in the unfortunate position of having the most people shift their opinion about it in a negative manner over the last 6 months. NZ Post is another brand’s reputation to watch as it’s polarising for people – seeing shifts both positive and negative. I’m looking forward to tracking how these brands perform in the coming months and years.”

About the Brand Reputation Index

A product of leading research and insights agency, O­pinion Compare, this inaugural wave of research surveyed a representative sample of the New Zealand adult population (n=1,011) to identify the top New Zealand brands, while subsequent waves of the research will track movement over time. 48 brands were chosen for evaluation in this first wave of research, from a variety of sectors and industries, including products and services. Over 4000 individual brand evaluations were conducted as part of the methodology to create the BRI.

To pre-register for the report, please visit: https://www.opinioncompare.co.nz/p/bri
 

Pre-register

 

TABLE: Brand Reputation Index (BRI) Leaderboard

1

Whittakers

2

Mitre 10

3

Earthwise

4

Pak n Save

5

Tip Top (Ice Cream)

6

Air New Zealand

7

Edmonds

8

Fisher & Paykel

9

Mainland

10

Kapiti

11

Vogel’s

12

Lewis Road

13

New World

14

Persil

15

Noel Leeming

16

Countdown

17

Manuka Health

18

Chemist Warehouse

19

Trade Me

20

Kiwi Bank

 

TABLE: Top 10 Brands Delivering Brand Purpose

1

Trade Me

2

Air New Zealand

3

Pak n Save

4

Persil

5

Earthwise

6

Chemist Warehouse

7

Vogel's

8

Mitre 10

9

Sky

10

Noel Leeming

 

TABLE: Top 10 Brands Positive Opinion Change – Last 6 Months

1

Chemist Warehouse

2

Countdown

3

Mitre 10

4

Mac's

5

Bunnings

6

NZ Post

7

Pak n Save

8

Tip Top (Ice Cream)

9

Whittakers

10

Noel Leeming

 

TABLE: Top 10 Brands Negative Opinion Change– Last 6 Months

1

Air New Zealand

2

Sky

3

Vodafone

4

NZ Post

5

The Warehouse

6

McDonalds

7

KFC

8

Spark

9

ANZ

10

Harvey Norman