To Build Brand Reputation, Focus on Quality, Ads, and Word of Mouth
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Corporate Communications Practices

To Build Brand Reputation, Focus on Quality, Ads, and Word of Mouth

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How do you get customers to trust and like your brand? Globally, a company’s products and services are the most powerful drivers of corporate reputation, according to an analysis of daily worldwide surveys on public perception by stakeholder intelligence firm Caliber. In contrast, in the US advertising and direct mail are what fuels reputation the most, the analysis finds. Knowing which interaction points have the most power to resonate positively with customers is important for companies when considering where they want to invest their time and money.

How do you get customers to trust and like your brand? Globally, a company’s products and services are the most powerful drivers of corporate reputation, according to an analysis of daily worldwide surveys on public perception by stakeholder intelligence firm Caliber. In contrast, in the US advertising and direct mail are what fuels reputation the most, the analysis finds. Knowing which interaction points have the most power to resonate positively with customers is important for companies when considering where they want to invest their time and money.

Key Insights

  • Quality products and services are the heart of a company’s reputation. Quality speaks for itself in driving customer preference and loyalty. This can impact other drivers like media coverage and word-of-mouth recommendations, which together account for around 30% of how a company’s reputation is shaped—showing the importance of earning positive endorsements from third parties.
  • In the US, paid media—specifically ads and direct mail—outperform shared, owned, and earned media in building a company’s reputation. This aligns with US CEOs indicating brand building and advertising as the leading marketing investment item in 2025, along with lead generation, according to our C-Suite Outlook 2025. Compared to their global peers, US CEOs are more focuse

Authors

Shahar Silbershatz

Shahar Silbershatz Shahar Silbershatz

Co-founder and CEO
Caliber

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Denise Dahlhoff, PhD

Denise Dahlhoff, PhD Denise Dahlhoff, PhD

Director, Marketing & Communications Research
The Conference Board

Read Bio

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