Amazon, Google and Dove rank high in 2017 national report on brands that demonstrate world value and purpose beyond profit

2017 World Value Index report unveils people's perceptions on 150 leading brands and their perceived value to the communities and audiences they serve


LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwired - June 6, 2017) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

enso, a mission-driven creative company, today unveiled the results of its 2017 World Value Index, an anticipated annual report that benchmarks 150 organizations by measuring and ranking each brand's overall World Value*, as perceived by people.

The report's findings are based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of 3,000 people, across 19 audience demographics and psychographics. Of the survey questions, trust, personal values and cultural political influences were considered while polling people's perceptions of all brands. Key findings in this year's World Value Index include:

  • Age, gender, income, political leanings and global outlook appeared to highly influence brand mission perception and support: Marlboro ranks last among the general population, but not for Boomers and Traditionalists

  • Nonprofits were more resonant with people than the year before: New additions to World Value Index's top 10 list for 2017 were primarily nonprofits, and Goodwill and Girl Scouts of the USA claimed the top two spots, beating Amazon, Google and Microsoft

  • Starbucks is the most politically polarizing brand: while it ranks #75 with the general population, Republicans rank them as #103 and Democrats rank them as #18

  • Twitter, Uber and Starbucks are brands poised to reach and activate millennials who are active on social media and like to take concrete action on issues important to them

  • People generally believe in the ability for businesses to make a positive impact but only 41 per cent trust business leaders to do what is right

"In an era when measuring companies by shareholder value is not good enough - for employees, customers or communities - the World Value Index measures the value of brands to everyday people. Against a backdrop of low trust in business leaders, we're seeing forward-looking, purpose-oriented brands rise to the top, and some historic brands fall, particularly with younger people," said Sebastian Buck, enso's co-founder and strategic lead.

The list of top-10 organizations whose mission and purpose are perceived as creating the most world value included nonprofits (Goodwill), brands traditionally associated with social impact and purpose (Dove), as well as brands providing practical value to people through their products and services (Amazon, Google). See below for the top-10 ranking brands:

  1. Goodwill
  2. Girl Scouts of the USA
  3. Amazon
  4. Save the Children
  5. Google
  6. World Wildlife Fund
  7. YMCA
  8. Microsoft
  9. Dove
  10. Subway

This year, new entrants to the top-10 list included Save the Children, World Wildlife Fund, YMCA, and Subway, which bumped off household names like Kellogg's, PayPal, Disney, Kraft and Johnson & Johnson.

*World Value is based on four segments of a brand's purpose or mission:

  • High awareness of brand's purpose
  • Strong relevance of brand's purpose to people's values
  • Brand's purpose is a strong motivator in garnering support
  • Brand's purpose is a strong motivator in triggering purchases

Download the 2017 World Value Index Report here.

Download the 2016 Brand World Value report here.

Background and Methodology

Developed by enso, the World Value Index is a nationally representative, comprehensive survey of 3,000 Americans on perception, awareness, and behaviours in response to the purpose and mission of organizations and brands. enso commissioned Quadrant Strategies, a research-driven consultancy that works with Fortune 100 and Fortune 50 companies, political leaders around the world and major nonprofits, to field surveys with various demographic representative samples of the U.S. populations ages 18 and up. It tested brands spanning a mix of industries and company sizes, ranging from start-ups to established companies.

The 19 audience segments surveyed included the general population, elites (people who are college educated and earn more than $100,000 per year), millennials and Gen Z, Gen X, Baby Boomers, social and purpose, tech-positive, tech-skeptic, moms, dads, environmentally engaged, young and social, nonprofit engaged, Democratic, Republicans and Independents. Each brand was scored based on answers to four questions related to awareness of purpose, alignment with purpose, active support and impact on purchase. The index score for each brand was calculated based on awareness of purpose plus alignment with purpose plus impact on purchase multiplied by active support.

The 2017 report marks the second annual World Value Index, and demonstrates the influence of sociopolitical climate on people's perception and trust of large organizations.

About enso

enso is a mission-driven creative company. We build mission-driven brands and Shared Mission initiatives that drive social impact at scale. Five years ago, we set out with the belief that the future of marketing is people and brands with shared values working together to drive business success with positive impact. Today, we are leading the paradigm shift from the campaign mindset, traditionally developed by marketers around a brand's singular mission, to Shared Mission initiatives, where the ultimate goal is not the success of one organization, but rather the achievement of a mission that serves all stakeholders.

Based in Los Angeles, our client partners include Google, Khan Academy, Atlantis, OfferUp, Omidyar Network, Everytable, and The Nature Conservancy. Through our network of Shared Missionsm collaborators, enso has built a new framework for collective action and cross-sector solutions to the urgent problems of our time. Recent missions have included rebuilding trust in neighborhoods, creating abundant internet access for everyone, establishing the basic right to literacy, generating wealth by solving the climate crisis, and transforming a mega resort by fostering a flourishing culture and ecology in which the entire country operates. For more information, please visit enso.co.

About World Value Index

The World Value Index is an annual report that explores a new way to measure brand value, ranking 150 well-known organizations according to the extent people are aware of, and willing to actively support, the organization's purpose and mission created. The World Value Index is developed by enso, a mission-driven creative company, in partnership with research consultancy Quadrant Strategies, to help brands people see as most valuable and are most motivated to support.

To read the full report, go to http://enso.co/worldvalue.

To view the photo associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170606-Top10Graphic-gr.png

Contact Information:

Media contact:
Melissa Orozco / Esther Tung
Media Relations
604.558.1656
enso@yulupr.com

These brands are perceived by the general population as creating the most World Value out of 150 organizations.