Like people worldwide, Americans endured the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in one year claimed over 500,000 lives in the US and crippled major sectors of the economy. Unlike the rest of the world, however, Americans simultaneously encountered the social disruption of a divisive presidential election and painful reminders of the nation’s unfulfilled promise of racial justice. Brands adjusted to these forces and anticipated ongoing market turbulence.

Early in the pandemic, brands encountered optimum conditions for competitive encroachment when shortages of essential products, combined with wide access to e-commerce, enabled people to easily find brand alternatives and expand their repertoires.

When social distancing limited out-of-home events and socializing, brands addressed new virtual occasions and routines. They pursued opportunities as remote working and learning accelerated expansion of the cloud, digital productivity tools, and other computing technologies.

After political campaigning and the drive for racial equality triggered hateful and deceitful online content, brands responded to issues of responsibility and brand safety, and more brands took a stand for social justice, aligning with rapidly evolving societal attitudes.

•Diversity and Inclusion Kantar’s US MONITOR 2020 research found that 79 percent of Gen Zers, 78 percent of Millennials, 65 percent of Gen Xers, and 61 percent of Boomers said it is important that the brands they buy take a stand to end racism.

•Sustainability The majority of Americans said that sustainability remains a critical concern, according Kantar’s COVID-19 Barometer research.

•Trust Americans increasingly expected brands to inspire trust with consistent ethical behavior. Of the 75 brands valued for this report, the most trusted scored three times higher than the least trusted in Brand Power, a BrandZTM measurement of equity.

Although the majority of Americans disapproved of the government’s response to the pandemic, according to the Kantar COVID-19 Barometer, their regard for brands increased. In a comparison of 128 brands across 10 categories, BrandZTM analysis found a rise in the percentage of consumers who thought brands are worth what they cost—or even more than they cost.