Trusty brands named

A variety of companies, two universities and a hospital received recognition as Orange County’s 10 most trusted brands at the first Trust Summit, sponsored by a Newport Beach-based business magazine and an advertising firm.

Honorees received etched plastic cubes designed to symbolize the transparency required to earn customer loyalty.

Orange County’s most trustworthy brands include Disneyland, Mother’s Market, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and In-N-Out Burger. The list also includes a relative newcomer, Vizio, which has dazzled local consumers with high-quality, low cost HDTVs, backed by excellent service. Though based in Los Angeles County, respondents also put Trader Joe’s on the list, presumably for its Orange County locations.

Cal State Fullerton and Chapman University may be on opposite ends of the cost spectrum, but both are rated as trusted institutions of higher education in Orange County.

St. Joseph Hospital got high trust rankings for consistency and concern, something administrators credit to a weeklong training program in which new staff members are taught that every interaction with another human being should be considered a “sacred encounter.”

The most controversial entry on the list of Orange County’s 10 most trusted brands is Planned Parenthood. Chief Executive Jon Dunn said building trust with patients is a core value of his staff, who’ve earned the recognition by providing accurate and confidential care.

The awards were sponsored by OC Metro magazine, which has offices in Newport, and the Values Institute at DGWB, an advertising firm in Santa Ana. The results were based on a survey of more than 400 Orange County consumers who rated 200 Southern California brands on five measures of trust: ability, consistency, sincerity, concern and connection.

OC Metro Editor Tina Borgatta said Orange County consumers have a different set of values when it comes to the picking their most trusted brands.

“Most consumers in other parts of the country view sincerity and connection as the most important elements of trust,” Borgatta said. “In Orange County, what’s most import is ability and consistency because consumers here have an expectation that they’re never going to be disappointed.”

CSUF marketing expert Steven Chen cautions that brand loyalty based on performance versus the emotional aspects of trust is very fragile.

“This means that consumer brand relationships might be disrupted when the performance expectations of consumers are not met,” he said.

To put it another way, you can expect the list of Orange County’s most trusted brands to change next year, if any of the current leaders don’t deliver.

Who Do You Trust?

Orange County’s top 10 most trusted brands, in alphabetical order:

Cal State Fullerton

Chapman University, Orange

Disneyland, Anaheim

In-N-Out Burger, Irvine

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Mother’s Market & Kitchen, Costa Mesa

Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties

St. Joseph Hospital, Orange

Trader Joe’s, Monrovia (Los Angeles County-based)

Vizio, Irvine