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Brand Strategy Brand Health Branding

Unlike its profits, public opinion of British Gas is plummeting

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By Hannah Bowler | Senior Reporter

August 11, 2022 | 3 min read

British Gas’s brand health has been extinguished after its parent company Centrica raked in operating profits of £1.3bn, according to YouGov Brand Index data.

YouGov data tracks British Gas' declining brand sentiment

YouGov data tracks British Gas’s declining brand sentiment / Pexels

YouGov’s Brand Index polls customers and non-customers to find out the average impression, value, quality and reputation of a brand. It reviewed sentiment toward British Gas for six months from January 2022, and in it we can see the cost-of-living crisis erode the public’s opinion of the brand. Over the H1 period, customer satisfaction plummeted by 21.7pts from 31.9 to just 10.2.

The energy provider has dropped 16pts among its customers in the past eight months, falling from 17.9 to 1.9. The company has also fallen out of favor with the general public, starting the year on 0 but now with -9.3 pts against it.

For the first six months leading to June 2022, Centrica posted profits five times higher than the previous year’s £262m. It was also the first time in three years Centrica gave out an interim dividend of 1p per share. With protestors already taking to rival energy HQs in the UK, it is clear that brand health is set to take a hit as prices rise to unprecedented levels.

Prior to the cost-of-living crisis, British Gas was already thought to be poor value for money, scoring -3 in January, but its customers now perceive that metric to be -22.6, falling by -19.6 pts.

British Gas has managed to add more than 200,000 customers in the first half of the year, although the majority were gained from Together Energy going bust.

Fuel brands have been heavily criticized for their poor handling of spiraling fuel costs. In January E.On was forced to apologize after sending socks to its customers and SSE faced backlash for suggesting people hug their pets and do star jumps to stay warm.

Brand Strategy Brand Health Branding

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