The new Forces of Good report from cultural insights and strategy company, The Lab, has listed Australia’s 10 best and worst brands when it comes to corporate social responsibility, naming NRMA as Australia’s leader for 2021.
The Forces of Good report, released today, examines Australians’ online discourse around corporate social responsibility (CSR), and lists the highest and lowest performing brands in relation to net positive dialogue, mentions and engagement against what is considered “good”.
Forces of Good was run through The Lab’s new artificial intelligence and machine learning division, Lab AI, with 190 brands analysed across the web on owned and earned channels. More than 6.8 million online mentions were explored, including almost 200,000 mentions relevant to CSR.
The top 10 performing brands in Australia are:
NRMA is the top force for good in the index due to its handling of the COVID crisis and frontline worker support, as well as having a significant profile in the sustainability space through renewable energy and wildlife conservation efforts. In Australia, the 2019-20 bushfire season and flooding were major events that pulled people closer together, and brands with an effective response to either fared particularly well.
Reece ranked second thanks to its contribution to the flood recovery effort, as well as a strong number of conversations about water efficiency and conservation, dialogue which is amplified by a strong local community presence of brand-loyal professional plumbers.
The Lab Co-Founder, Paul Labagnara, said: “Being a force for good is what Australian consumers are craving right now. They want to know which brands care beyond just ‘business as usual’. Our Australia Project 2021 research shows 83 per cent of Australians believe brands need to stand by their values and principles.
“CEOs and marketers should take notice of what the top 10 brands are doing and saying, as they all follow explicit ideals such as know your purpose, follow up talk with actions, be inspiring and not lecturing, and mean something to your consumers.
“Eight of the top 10 brands in the index are Australian owned; by contrast, six of the bottom 10 are global brands. Brands and marketers should note that there is strength in localised content and activity, especially when paired with a greater level of commitment and ability to influence on the ground,” he said.
Of the not-so-good top 10, the key themes for getting it wrong were lack of support for staff and community and failing to have a voice.
The bottom 10 worst performing brands were:
- Visa
- JB Hi-Fi
- Amazon
- MYOB
- Subway
- Sydney Airport
- 7-Eleven
- CSL
- Vodafone
- KFC
