Can His Majesty Beat Bisto? UK Public Sees King's Cultural Impact as Similar to Classic Gravy Brand

(London, UK) (4.5.2023): On the eve of King Charles' coronation, the British public viewed his impact on UK culture similarly to that of the gravy brand Bisto and car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover. A survey by the marketing consultancy Rival, asking the British public about the positive or negative impact people, organizations and brands have on UK culture, found that while the NHS, Queen Elizabeth, Cadbury and M&S all ranked highly, King Charles placed mid-table on average - between Jaguar / Land Rover and the BBC.

While a set of heritage brands such as Cadbury, M&S, Yorkshire Tea & Boots were uniformly positive across ages, His Royal Highness' cultural impact varied significantly with 51% of 18-34 Brits stating his impact on UK culture was 'positive' or 'very positive' versus 74% of 55+ and 65% overall. Similarly heritage British cultural brands Mini Cooper (viewed 'positively / very positively' by 62% of 18-34 vs. 81% of 55+) and Fortnum & Mason (31% of 18-34 vs 57% of 55+), saw similar declines in perceived cultural impact amongst younger audiences. Alternatively, younger Brits were more likely to positively view the cultural impact of Tesco, Morrison's, Sky Sports and challenger brands such as Monzo and Gymshark.

DuBose Cole, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Rival said "Brands and organizations need to fight for attention amongst their audience with relevance. The age divide we're seeing for King Charles isn't different from what many other classic British brands and organizations face, considering how to make themselves relevant to people of different ages, lifestyles and challenges. Heritage doesn't have to mean staying still, instead as the best brands do, it can be a base for mixing shorter term adaptation to shifts in culture and behavior with a long term narrative. As we see from uniformly loved brands and organizations, such as Cadbury or the NHS, as well as heritage brands growing younger support, such as Tesco and Morrisons, being classic doesn't have to mean losing touch."

Opinions on the King's impact were more divisive than many of the brands and organizations tracked, with 14% of the public saying his cultural impact was 'negative' or 'very negative', similar to Carling (16%), Wetherspoons (17%), the BBC (19%) and British Gas (19%). However, research showed much higher negativity for the Prime Minister (41%), the Daily Mail (32%) and BP (23%).

"Negativity is to be expected for many brands and organizations that operate at scale, either due to their operating model and product reality, as in the case of British Gas, their stances in culture, as with Wetherspoons, or how the wider market has oriented relative to them, as with Carling and the BBC. The ability to reconcile and reposition against what drives this negativity over time is what separates enduring brands from those that fade." said Cole.

Beyond the King's initial ranking, the data show a lack of newer brands scaling to challenge the pantheon of classic British culture. Starling Bank, Gymshark, Monzo and others have grown to make economic impact in their respective markets, as well as showing greater support amongst younger audiences, but have yet to scale to the level of widely appreciated British classics.

"British entrepreneurship has created numerous success stories in recent times, for brands across everything from Fintech to Apparel. However, we aren't seeing the wide UK public appreciate the impact that, for example, a Monzo or Starling has had on banking at scale."

"As King Charles looks to increase his appeal across younger audiences and counter existing perceptions of the monarchy, one could foresee a focus in communications and potentially royal warrants to not just celebrate UK startups, but to take a page and behave more like one." said Cole.

Survey Methodology: The survey, conducted 1-4 May, 2023 on research platform Attest, asked a nationally representative sample of 1000 UK respondents (18-74) what best describes the cultural impact of 59 brands, people and organizations. Respondents were given the option to say 'This is a Very Positive & Integral Part of UK Culture', 'This is a Positive Part of UK Culture', 'Neutral / Neither', 'This is a Negative Part of UK Culture' or 'This is Very Negative & Shouldn't Be a Part of UK Culture'.

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Press Contact: DuBose Cole
dubose@wearerival.com

Rival is a marketing consultancy focused on helping brands change, not just challenge the markets they operate in across the globe. They offer brand, go to market, media and organizational strategy that helps brands of all sizes think and grow like a challenger brand. For more information, additional research from our Rival Spark research program or to get in touch, go to www.wearerival.com.

This release was published on openPR.