Of all the assets any food marketer owns, hands down the most valuable is its brand. While all the other tangibles such as processing equipment, physical plants, delivery fleets, furniture, fixtures, and so on, depreciate over time, a well managed brand appreciates over time. Yet, in many organizations, brands are viewed as simply the logo art that resides in the marketing department.

To change that perspective, food marketers need to think of the term brand as synonymous with reputation. Every product package, every marketing piece, advertising, online presence, the individual and collective actions of the brand’s owners and employees, all of these build a reputation that influences consumer perception, trust, and ultimately purchase decisions.

A recent study from Weber Shandwick and KRC Research underscores the connection of brand value and reputation, and strongly suggests that corporate reputation is as important as product branding in consumer purchasing decisions. The research included over 1,300 consumer interviews and input from over 500 senior corporate executives from firms with revenue of at least $500 million annually. Seventy percent of respondents indicated that they avoid purchasing a brand’s product if they dislike the company that owns the brand and 70% indicated that they are increasingly looking for parent company identification on product packaging. Further, over 50% stated that they hesitate to buy a branded product when they were unable to locate a parent company name or identity on packaging.

Brands can quickly depreciate with a couple of missteps, and even well managed brands can suffer an occasional misstep. Building a solid positive reputation and brand over time can help any brand better manage the fallout from any misstep…it is human nature to more easily forgive someone who has been known to be trustworthy in the past.