Every year, the Kantar Corporate Reputation Index provides a snapshot of how New Zealanders feel about the organisations that shape our economy, communities and daily lives.

The 2026 results reveal something important. Reputation is no longer primarily driven by marketing, brand campaigns or carefully crafted messages. It is increasingly shaped by behaviour, customer experience and whether organisations consistently deliver on their promises.

In many ways, this year’s Index reflects the national mood.

New Zealanders are facing economic pressure, geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change and growing expectations around leadership, fairness and accountability. As a result, people have become more discerning about who they trust and more conscious of whether organisations are genuinely living up to their values.

Trust has become harder to earn. But for those organisations that do earn it, the rewards are significant.

Reputation is earned

The highest-profile reputation stories of the past year were rarely communications issues. They were operational issues.

Whether it was public debate around school lunches, infrastructure and service delivery concerns, leadership controversies, food recalls or questions around institutional performance, the common thread was clear. Reputation was shaped by what organisations did, not what they said.

Communications still matters but communications can no longer compensate for poor customer experiences, inconsistent decision-making or a disconnect between promises and reality.

The organisations leading this year’s Corporate Reputation Index understand this. They recognise that reputation is earned through thousands of everyday interactions with customers, employees, suppliers, regulators and communities.

Trust creates resilience and growth

In a tougher operating environment, trust creates resilience.

Organisations with strong reputations tend to receive the benefit of the doubt when things go wrong, find it easier to bring stakeholders with them through periods of change, and are often better placed to weather uncertainty when operating conditions become challenging.

A strong reputation influences whether customers choose your brand, whether talented people want to work for you, whether investors back your strategy and whether stakeholders give you the benefit of the doubt when challenges arise.

It affects access to capital, employee retention, customer loyalty and long-term growth.

The organisations performing strongly in this year's Index are demonstrating that trust is becoming one of the most valuable forms of competitive advantage a company can have.

The strongest reputations tell a clear story

One of the common traits among this year’s top performers is that they are not invisible. They help stakeholders understand what they stand for, where they are heading and how they create value. They communicate their strategy, explain difficult decisions, provide context and bring people on the journey.

Importantly, this starts from the inside out. Organisations with strong reputations invest in internal communication, ensuring employees understand the strategy, believe in it and can confidently bring it to life through their everyday interactions. When people inside the organisation understand the story and see leaders consistently delivering against it, trust grows both internally and externally.

Looking ahead

The Corporate Reputation Index has tracked trust and reputation in New Zealand for more than a decade. While the operating environment continues to evolve, one principle remains unchanged.  Reputation is earned.

It is earned through strong leadership, clear values, fair treatment of stakeholders and delivering on promises over time.

The organisations leading this year's Index are proving that trust is not simply a by-product of success. Increasingly, it is one of the drivers of success itself.

And in an environment where trust is harder to win and easier to lose, that may be the most important competitive advantage of all.