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Eskom sheds load of credibility

WHICH OF THESE attributes can be applied to Eskom: accountability, transparency or receptiveness? Probably none of them, in the aftermath of the load-shedding debacle that made a mockery of what was once an iconic brand. But if Eskom is to regain the trust of the public and business those are the descriptors it will have to earn, says HKLM brand consultant Lori Levitan.

"In the business world, trust represents a competitive advantage, infinitely exploitable and virtually impossible to replicate," she writes in the forthcoming 2008 edition of The Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding, out in September. "Without the requisite accountability, however, it's easy to lose and far more difficult to regain."

By losing sight of that, Eskom is facing load shedding of its own - of its credibility.

The currency of brand trust has increased in value over the latter part of the 20th Century, as the functional differences between the goods and services become harder to identify, says Levitan. Living in uncertain times has also significantly altered the attributes people ascribe to being "trustworthy".

"The difficulty for service brands is that they rely on the human factor to meet these high expectations, while manufactured goods (such as chocolate) rely almost solely on the product itself - certainly an easier variable to manage.

"Trust is very closely linked to expectation, which is shaped by brand promises. Trust is created when promises - and thus expectations - are met, but it is destroyed when promises are broken."

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