Americans Say Coca-Cola, Walmart, Amazon Are the Most Patriotic Food Retail Brands: Report
Patriotism expressed through actions rather than advertising can help brands build trust among consumers. For retailers and CPG brands, The Coca-Cola Co., Walmart and Amazon are among the brands that Americans think best represent the nation.
This is according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in June by consumer insights platform Zappi.
Coca-Cola ranked third among the brands survey respondents said best represent America today, followed by Walmart, which came in at No. 5, Anheuser-Busch beer brand Budweiser, which was ranked 7th, and Amazon, which ranked No. 9. In an open-ended question, 6% of American adults (or 104 respondents) chose Coca-Cola as a brand that best represents the country, 3% chose Walmart (63 respondents) and Budweiser (45 respondents), and 2% chose Amazon (34 respondents).
"It's no accident that Americans think brands like Walmart, Amazon and Coca-Cola best represent the country," Zappi CMO Nataly Kelly said. "These are brands that have earned a place in consumers' everyday lives."
Sixty-three percent of survey respondents said they trust a company more when it invests in American jobs, rather than running patriotic ads. Meanwhile, 60% said brands that feature people and communities in their marketing feel more genuine than those that feature national symbols. Overall, Zappi's survey found that 49% of American adults reported positive reactions to patriotic branding, compared with 16% who reported negative reactions.
Even so, value rules over patriotism, the survey found. Even on such a patriotic day as July 4, 27% of Americans said they most want brands to lead with value and savings, compared with 19% who said they want brands to lead with celebrating American pride.
"That's an important reminder for retailers and CPG brands: Consumers are looking for companies that contribute to their communities year-round, not just brands that wrap themselves in patriotic imagery for a few weeks," Kelly said.
Overall, Zappi's survey found that 60% of U.S. adults feel a strong sense of pride in being American, while just 16% said they feel little or no pride.
Notably, the survey found that the amount of pride Americans feel depends on age. Fifty-six percent of Americans older than 55 said their pride is very strong, while 29% of Americans aged 18 to 25 said the same. This leads into how consumers in different age groups react to patriotic branding: Positive reaction to such branding scored +17 among 18- to 25-year-old respondents, and +55 among respondents older than 55, according to the survey.
This article first appeared on the site of CGT sister brand Progressive Grocer.
