OPERATIONS
THE RISE OF CITIZEN BRANDS
Conran Design Group’ s Citizen Brands 2025 study and framework identifies a growing disconnect between what people expect from brands, what leaders feel able to deliver and how brands show up in the real world.
It finds three specific disconnects are holding brands back:
n Expectation disconnect( leaders feel torn between shareholder pressure and societal demands)
n Action disconnect( brands struggle to operationalise purpose in everyday decisions)
n Belief disconnect( audiences are increasingly sceptical of generic, inauthentic ESG storytelling)
Connection with people and society is the proven growth lever. Those brands that score highest on Citizen Brand attributes significantly outperform peers on reputation, talent attraction and purchase intent. They also show materially stronger revenue and equity price growth.
What key actions should leaders take based on this? Honesty about where they are and where they are not is key. They don’ t necessarily need to have all the answers but to just be honest in terms of acknowledging the challenging situations they are in. Actions matter, but a lot of it is down to clarity and intent. We found that people wanted to see organisations trying to evolve in a positive direction and be more sustainable, even if they have work to do. The things that really influence people are honesty about the roadmap, honesty about the challenges ahead and what is being done to mitigate them, as well as a clear and consistent dialogue to consumers. What can be damaging is when companies roll back commitments. We saw it with businesses like BP and Shell, for example, getting a lot of flack after making commitments then rolling them back – it is a huge factor in eroding consumer trust.
What should boardrooms focus on as a priority? Having an up-to-date assessment of current brand health is something that a lot of businesses don’ t do often enough. Making sure that you have a good, accurate and current reading of brand performance is something that we would always recommend that companies put time and investment into. That includes an understanding of how you’ re showing up, how your brand is perceived, what the sentiment is internally and if it is a magnet for attracting talent or putting people off. These are all important brand questions that companies don’ t ask as much as they should.
92 March 2026