The Trust Recession: Brands That Act Now Will Win Later

We are living through a trust recession. The Edelman Trust Barometer characterizes today's climate as a global "crisis of grievance" that has descended into insularity. Events spanning past decades — from the 2008 financial crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic — that have steadily eroded trust in leaders and institutions. While brand trust has held up somewhat better than institutional trust, they are not immune. The response from forward-looking brands has been decisive: don't wait for trust to erode further; race to own it in your category, now.

Allstate: Swapping Chaos for Connection

For years, Allstate's Mayhem campaign has been one of the most recognizable in insurance — a darkly funny personification of all the things that could go wrong. But in 2026, Allstate made a notable pivot. Its new campaign, fronted by actress Judy Greer, offers something warmer, and the message, "if it's important to you, it's important to us," is delivered in suburban neighborhoods with a tone that balances sincerity and empathy. The spots position the brand as a trusted confidante — speaking with people rather than at them. For an industry where trust is the core product, this is a sharp strategic move — and Allstate has made it faster than its competitors where humor is still the main message.

American Express: Building Trust Into the Product Itself

American Express has embedded trust directly into its product architecture. In April 2026, Amex announced it would extend its well-known customer protection to purchases made by registered AI agents, protecting eligible cardholders from charges related to AI agent error. This is a significant move on two levels. First, it removes a legitimate source of friction and anxiety for consumers navigating an increasingly AI-assisted world — a world where, as the Edelman data makes clear, technological disruption is actively undermining trust. Second, it signals something deeper about Amex's brand identity: as Amex's head of global innovation put it, "as commerce becomes more agent-powered, trust becomes the defining factor." Rather than staying silent as AI upends commerce, Amex stepped in with a clear guarantee and a signal to customers about its trustworthiness.

CVS Health: Making "Most Trusted" a Corporate Mandate

In December 2025, CVS Health CEO David Joyner made a declaration that "CVS Health is committed to being the most trusted health care company in America." It isn’t just lip service. The company has been operationalizing this ambition across its business — reporting that over 95% of Aetna's prior authorization requests are now approved within 24 hours, a direct response to one of the healthcare industry's most trust-destroying friction points. They've also redesigned their retail product packaging based to make benefits and features easier to understand, specifically to improve trust. CVS Health is treating trust as an operational discipline. In an industry where consumer trust has been under sustained pressure, naming the aspiration publicly and then backing it with measurable commitments is a meaningful innovation in customer experience.

Take The Lead In Trust

The brands above are choosing to compete on trust before their competitors do. The opportunity in front of brands is real: identify where your customers experience the most doubt, the most friction, the most uncertainty, and eliminate it. Make a commitment to trust, promote it publicly, and build the operational backbone to deliver on it in your messaging, product, and customer experience.

At empatiX, we help brands identify where trust breaks down and turn those moments into opportunities for stronger connection.