2023 Edelman Trust Barometer: Analyses How We Calculated Belief-Driven Buyers In the June 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: The New Cascade of Influence, respondents were asked a series of questions Respondents were asked: regarding the role their values, opinions about social issues, and Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements political beliefs played in their purchasing decisions. The Belief- Driven Buyer (BDB) scale was created by averaging respondents’ answers to the seven 9-pt agree/disagree scale items, shown in the 1. Even if a company makes the product that I like most, I will not buy it if I disagree table to the right. with the company’s stand on important social issues • Non-belief-driven buyers were those that scored between 1 – 4.99 on the BDB scale, meaning on average they disagreed with these 2. If a brand offers the best price on a product, I will buy it even if I disagree with the statements. company’s stand on controversial social or political issues • Respondents who scored between 5.00 – 9.00 on the BDB scale I have bought a brand for the first time for the sole reason that I appreciated its were classified as belief-driven buyers, meaning on average they 3. position on a controversial societal or political issue saw themselves reflected at least to some extent in these statements I have stopped buying one brand and started buying another because I liked the 4. politics of one more than the other 5. I have strong opinions about many societal and political issues. The brands I choose to buy and not buy are one important way I express those opinions. 6. I have stopped buying a brand solely because it remained silent on a controversial societal or political issue that I believed it had an obligation to publicly address