Brand trust: Five lessons for building credibility

Brand leaders have never had to navigate so much uncertainty. Or, as one FT reader so aptly put it in a recent survey: “Institutional trust has been eroded away to the point that people are asking the kind of questions they did not ask in the past.” 

We are living in a time of profound change. Marketers are facing the triple onslaught of economic volatility, geopolitical tension and rapid technological transformation. In this climate, where uncertainty is the only certainty, brands are being held to higher standards than ever before and their pursuit of customer brand loyalty has never been more challenging.

This environment was the focus of a recent Financial Times breakfast panel in Melbourne, where leaders from technology, and professional services explored how organisations can navigate an increasingly complex trust landscape.

In this article, we’ll highlight five key lessons that our distinguished panel shared.

1. Trust is now a strategic KPI

Victoria Sampson, VP of Marketing for Asia and Emerging Markets at Thomson Reuters, explained that for her organisation, trust is embedded at the very core. “Trust is on our global OKRs,” she said:

“From the board down, we have a little head start because Reuters has operated on principles of integrity and unbiased truth since 1941. That ethos is carried throughout the business.”

She noted that in APAC, the meaning of brand trust is evolving. “We’re pivoting from being quite a transactional marketing function to a very brand-focused marketing function. It’s a work in progress, but it’s now front and center.”

Monty Hamilton, Partner at TELUS Digital, echoed this shift:

“At a board level, trust sits within a pillar of the overall brand. About 20% of executive performance is measured under that KPI. Put simply, it hits the bottom line. If the organisation isn’t performing across that metric, pay packets are impacted.”

New research from the FT and IPA reinforces this point. In a survey of 750 global business leaders, 22% say ‘trust’ is now a board-level KPI in their company.

2. Authenticity and accountability create trust

For Diane Gates, Global CMO at global law firm Ashurst, the challenge lies in aligning brand promise with lived client experience. “We don’t actually measure trust, but we spend a lot of time looking at brand strength. Our big focus is portraying the brand authentically,” she said.

Ashurst’s work to reposition itself around the strategy of “outpacing change” has elevated its reputation. Yet, Gates acknowledged the need to ensure brand positioning and client experience remain connected: “The lesson is to make sure you’re not building your brand so aspirationally that it outpaces the reality of delivery.”

Again the FT x IPA research shows the importance of how brands show up: Reliability, consistency and competent human interaction were named the top three factors in building brand trust. 

3. DEI has proven to be a valuable litmus test

All three panelists pointed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a litmus test for trust. FT Longitude’s research showed ‘DEI rollback’ being frequently cited alongside ‘trust’ in tier one media coverage in 2025, with a 650% increase in mentions year-on-year.

Gates was clear: “Many global firms have rolled back their DEI programs, and the results are significant—they’re losing clients, lawyers, and reputation. Holding true to your values is really important. We haven’t rolled back, and the press has caught out those that have.”

Hamilton agreed, noting that organisations that only ever treated DEI as a facade are now exposed: “We’re seeing a separation between companies that were wholly invested because they believed in it versus those that just wanted to be seen doing the right thing. That gap creates cynicism and distrust.”

Sampson added a practical dimension: in APAC, DEI is increasingly a contractual requirement. “As a software provider, we won’t even be considered for a contract in markets like India or China if we don’t meet compliance standards. It’s quantified, and I like that—we’re forced to think seriously about it.”

4. Data and AI will prove make or break

No discussion of trust is complete without technology. Hamilton cautioned against complacency in Australia’s oligopoly-dominated markets, where major brands have suffered data breaches:

“We obsess over the corporate response instead of the root cause. Today, almost every business is a data business – If you don’t have the right talent and capability—or the right partners—you’re just waiting for an incident. Brands need to treat data like aviation safety: non-negotiable.”

On this point the FT x IPA research unequivocally agrees. 92% of business decision makers say that, were a company to misuse AI, it would have a profound impact on their level of trust with that company. There is also skepticism around machine-generated insight and content, with 55% saying they do not trust AI-generated content. 

Gates emphasised the risk of misusing AI in professional services: “If it’s suspected that lawyers are using AI to generate advice, the damage to brand trust would be enormous. We train lawyers to use AI as a tool, but clients must know the human input is there.”

5. Trust is built slowly – and destroyed quickly

Despite sector differences, the panelists agreed that trust is built slowly but can be lost quickly. Sampson stressed consistency: “People have a memory. Commitment to brand over the long term is essential. Nothing changes in five minutes; you need five or ten years.”

But at a time when unpredictable changes have the possibility of reshaping companies overnight – the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s trade tariffs and recent extreme weather events, just to name a few – balancing long-term brand building with short-term shifts can present CMOs with a serious challenge. 

For Gates, the north star remains clear: “We always revert back to our strategy and values. If something doesn’t align with who we are, we don’t jump on it. That’s how you withstand short-term trends while protecting long-term trust.”