You know a speaker has you hooked if he starts his speech with a picture and an example of MS Dhoni and ends it with a quote by Steve Jobs. I got an opportunity to listen to Christo van Wyk, Regional Director (India and Middle East), Meltwater at the 8^th edition of PRAXIS in Goa. He is from South Africa living in Dubai with more than 10 years of experience in emerging markets. His topic was, ‘How to build, manage and measure brand trust.’

There are many ways through which a brand can build trust and he spoke about four specific points-

1. It’s not about you it’s about them- how we position and market the brand.
2. Be radically empathetic- he gave an example of a campaign done by dove, that how beauty and fashion industry objectify women. It is important for any communicator to be empathetic towards their audience.
3. Commit to improve lives- consumers now expect of brands to be the voice of social change.
4. Be real- connecting with clients helps in speaking with the audience.

He made it very clear how important is it for brands to gain the trust of their consumers and deliver on its every promise in every interaction and if the promise is not fulfilled there’s a high chance that they will turn around and find a brand that does. Always define what brand trust means to you and make smarter goals. We need the right technology in today’s time to keep up with emerging trends because of the increase in the use of technology in every sector. Connect with your clients and speak to your audience. With corporate crises and scams on the rise we crave for trustworthy relations more than ever.

Related Post – Ethics in PR

The keynote was insightful and gave a lot of information on how consumers have become more particular about which brand to trust and how a brand can build it.

–Kritika Khatwani