Welcome to the June edition of the Trust Report, your monthly deep dive into all things trust from the Edelman Trust Institute.
This month, we're speaking the language of brands. 🛍️
We released our latest study last week, the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust, From We to Me. As this edition's Expert Voice, our CEO Richard Edelman shares his thoughts on how brand trust has shifted from collective ideals to personal expectations.
While enjoying the sunshine at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, we produced a four-part special edition series of The TrustMakers, featuring interviews with:
Louise McEwen (CMO, McLaren Racing)
A.G. Sulzberger (Publisher, The New York Times)
Yusuf Medhi (EVP, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft) and Jordan Chiles (Olympic gymnast)
Blakely Thornton (Creator and Entrepreneur)
All episodes are live and ready to be streamed.
Happy Summer ☀️
The New Role for Brands: From Change the World to Change My World
By Richard Edelman
Marketers must adapt to a new reality: Purpose has evolved from we to me. This is the central finding of the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust, From We to Me.
Over the past decade, brands have championed societal causes to earn relevance and loyalty, but today consumers need economic hope and personal stability. Across age, income, or politics, respondents in 15 markets on 5 continents agree that they depend on brands to be active partners in a better day to day life. Instead of changing the world, consumers want brands to change my world.
Eighty percent of people trust My Brands, placing it far ahead of the traditional institutions of business, government, media, and NGOs. This is driven by the stunning rise in trust in brands in general among both High and Low-Income consumers since 2022.
Trust now equals price and quality as a purchase consideration.
Moving Beyond Crisis Fatigue to Brand Faith
Consumers have a hunger for active brands in their lives: Among the most important jobs for brands are “Me Factors” such as “Make Me Feel Good” (68%), “Give Me Optimism” (62%) and “Teach and Educate Me” (59%). The “We” factors are important but additive, namely “Help Me Do Good” (61%) and “Provide Me with Community” (51%).
Trust has emerged as the new decisive factor in marketing because the consumer has endured a series of hammer blows in the past five years, from COVID-19 to global conflicts to surging global inflation...
Richard Edelman is the President and CEO of Edelman.
Since 2022, Brand Trust Outpaces Institutional Trust
Percent who say
2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust, From We to Me. TRU_BRD. For each of the following, please indicate how much you trust them to do what is right. 9-point scale; top 4 box, trust. General population, 14-mkt avg. 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer. The Trust Index is the average percent trust in business, government, media, and NGOs. TRU_INS. Below is a list of institutions. For each one, please indicate how much you trust that institution to do what is right. 9-point scale; top 4 box, trust. General population, 14-mkt avg. Due to a translation inconsistency in France, the 2021-2023 Trust Index scores have been imputed using a model. For more details, please see the Technical Appendix.
A Podcast From Edelman and Advertising Week: Cannes Lions series
The TrustMakers is where listeners learn from global experts about what it takes to build trust in today’s society. This special edition series was recorded in France, as part of the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and features interviews with five prominent thought leaders currently influencing brand trust and engagement.
