The 20 Most 'Authentic' Brands in the US (and Why)

“Transparency” isn’t just a buzzword: as a 2013 survey by Cohn & Wolfe showed us, consumers around the world are demanding more in the way of honest communications from the brands they know and use every day.

The 2014 version of that survey, which the firm released this week, is larger and more all-encompassing. They keyword this time around: “authenticity.”

Here’s the big finding:

• 87 percent of global consumers say it’s important for brands to “act with integrity at all times” while only 72 percent call innovation essential

Another key finding: product quality and the transparency surrounding it is the largest potential cause of crisis for a brand — and the public in general is NOT happy about data security.

After the jump, we list the 20 “most authentic” brands in the United States and ask Cohn Global Practice Leader of Corporate Affairs Geoff Beattie to tell us a bit more about the...