• by Aaron Baar , June 14, 2013

Verizon Wireless’ reputation took a hit over revelations that the company had handed over call records to the National Security Agency, but its overall business may not be too damaged. 

According to YouGov BrandIndex, consumer perceptions of Verizon Wireless dropped sharply after revelations that the company turned over call data to the U.S. government came to light. Indeed, the company saw its perception levels drop well below the composite average of rivals AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. On June 5, the day the news broke, Verizon’s “Buzz score” (which measures how much positive or negative information consumers had heard about a brand) was 14, while the competitors' average was 8. Five days after the news broke, Verizon’s score landed at zero, while the sector average was 6. 

“Lots of consumers had heard about [the story] and perceived it as negative for Verizon,” Ted Marzilli, CEO and founder of YouGov BrandIndex, tells Marketing Daily. “When you see the reaction, it’s clear the story is associated with Verizon.”

However, consumers did not seem to be holding the story against the company. According to YouGov’s “purchase consideration” index, which measures whether a consumer would consider a brand over the next 12 months, Verizon Wireless performed much better. Using the same time frame, the company’s purchase consideration on June 5 was 27; five days later, it was 26. 

“Consumers are not blaming or punishing Verizon for this,” Marzilli says of the difference between the buzz and consideration scores. “It’s as much a reaction to the overall story.”

Whether the goodwill can be sustained will be hard to predict, however. Marzilli notes that Verizon (and other companies) could take much bigger hits if more information (or more damning information) is revealed. 

“It’s hard to say how long the legs are for this story,” Marzilli says. “Anything can happen. But right now, consumers are not punishing Verizon with their pocketbooks.”