A critical job of a global marketing professional is to understand the mindset of the customer.  For the brand manager, this means stepping into the shoes of the customer – understanding unmet needs, desires, and the motivation to attach themselves to the brand. The key to this attachment is trust.

As marketers we are all aware of the link between trust and customer loyalty and commitment, but what may not be so apparent is the link between public and private trust in communities, or countries, for that matter.

Does the rise in public distrust reflect poorly on brands?

The Trust Survey

Studies like the Edelman Global TRUST BAROMETER seem to indicate a connection.  In fact, Richard Edelman, President & CEO of says that what is at play is a dangerous “grand illusion.”

From the economics of inequality, described by Thomas Piketty in his best-seller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, we now observe the inequality of trust around the world. I would posit that there is a “grand illusion” at play – a lingering notion that elites continue to lead and the masses will follow.

The Edelman TRUST BAROMETER 2016 results indicate a trust gap is emerging between elite and mass populations.

The global survey asks respondents how much they trust the four institutions of government, business, nongovernmental organizations and media to do what is right. The survey shows that trust is rising in the elite or “informed public” group – those with at least a college education, who are very engaged in media, and have an income in the top 25 percent. However, in the “mass population” (the remaining 85 percent of the sample), trust levels have barely budged since the Great Recession.

According to the survey, “we are seeing the flipping of the classic pyramid of influence as peer-to-peer discussions overtake the influence of elites. It is my belief that the mass population is relying less on newspapers and magazines and, instead, chooses self-affirming online communities and television news. The most credible source of information on social networking sites is ‘my friends and family,’ a source considered much more believable than CEOs and government officoals.”

The rise of trust inequality seems to be a major pillar in the campaigns of Donald Trump in the U.S. and Marine Le Pen in France, notes Edelman.  

Across the globe, CEOs are viewed in a cynical light: more than half of the general population do not trust CEOs to do the right thing:

Additionally, employees are increasingly distrustful of their companies: one in three employees don’t trust their employer. And more than two thirds feel that CEOs are too focused on short-term performance. As a result, employees are far less likely to say positive things about the company they work for.

Trust inequality is highlighted with every business, institution, or CEO that fails visibly:

• The VW emissions scandal
• Toshiba’s accounting
• FIFA and Sepp Blatter
• Valeant
• Martin Shkreli

Trust and Neuroscience

While marketers have taken largely a social science approach to understanding the role of trust and applying those insights, neuroscientists have been studying trust from the standpoint of brain function and how that influences behavior.

Laboratory work by Paul Zak, and his colleagues at Claremont Graduate University has uncovered an apparent “switch” in the brain that can “turn on” trust.

Apparently the neurochemical oxytocin (OT) is synthesized in the human brain when one is trusted or simply treated well. The OT molecule, in turn, motivates reciprocation. The release of OT signals that the other party is “safe” to be around and that cooperative behavior will not be exploited.

OT appears to be the neurochemical that emotionally connects us to others by enhancing empathy, which is why it is sometimes called the “love hormone” (think brand love).

For an example of oxytocin-releasing campaign, watch this Google India advertisement, that explores the pain of partition, of old friends separated for years by political boundaries – only to be reunited years later, through the power of Google’s search.  The advertisement has over 13 million YouTube views.  Although the ad is in Hindi, the emotional language used is universal.

SIDENOTE: In a divisive election year in the US, I expected Coca-Cola to unveil a “united we stand” campaign that brought people together, but I haven’t seen anything yet.  Alas – but there’s still time, Coke!

A Systems Approach to Trust

I posit that the negative publicity around the trust scandals – both political and business related – has precipitated an even larger trust-gap across the public consciousness. A systems approach to analyzing the trust gaps may help shed some light on the problem of trust.  Where does the trust gap occur?

The diagram above shows the various trust gaps between the various institutions and the public. I am currently researching these gaps in an effort to see how the trust gap creates a trust tax on every transaction in civil and commercial endeavors.

Trust and a New Economy

For David Korten, a leading voice in this space, the Old Economy fails because it is based on false values, assumptions, and logic. For Korten, we are facing the Great Turning, a framework for understanding our time within a deep historical context and for defining the collective choice we must now make as a species. He states:

to secure the human future it is necessary to turn from growth to the reallocation of resources as the defining economic priority. Eliminate harmful uses (military, advertising, sprawl, and financial speculation), increase beneficial uses (environmental regeneration, food and energy self-reliance, health, education, and productive investment), and give priority to the needs of those the old economy excludes and represses (the desperate, hungry, and indentured). The transition to a New Economy is foundational to navigating the Great Turning. 

Stuart L Hart, a pioneer in business sustainability, also sees a transformation in business and brands. In an article titled The Future of Corporate Social Responsibility he says: