Event wrap up: Telum Talks to: Financial Times

APAC consumers are more likely to silently disengage when brand belief is lost, according to Ogilvy PR’s 2026 APAC Believability Index: The Power of Proof.

The report examines how consumers across Asia Pacific decide what - and who - is worth believing in at a time of synthetic content, misinformation, and rising scepticism. Its central finding is clear: believability is no longer just a reputation measure, but a commercial signal.

The report found that 93 per cent of dissatisfied consumers across the region silently disengage when brand believability is lost. Only 10 per cent say they would post about a negative brand experience on social media.

Ogilvy PR partnered with YouGov to collect data between April and May 2026. The report surveyed 7,176 respondents, with data weighted to provide a representative cross-section of adult populations aged 18 and older across seven markets: Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

The agency first launched the Believability Index in 2019 with Kantar to assess what it means for people to believe in business and political leaders. The 2026 edition extends that lens to brand behaviour, consumer trust and the commercial impact of lost belief.

Key findings from the report

• Silent reputational fallout is a prominent risk - when belief is lost, consumers are more likely to take private action than public action. Across the region, 48 per cent stop buying and 28 per cent quietly switch to a competitor.

• Competence now carries more weight than purpose - across APAC, 42 per cent of consumers abandoned a brand in the past 12 months because its product or service did not deliver what was promised. That was higher than the 29 per cent who left because of poor business ethics and the 18 per cent who left because of greenwashing or misleading sustainability claims.

• Different APAC markets need different forms of proof - the report identifies two different belief systems operating across the region: institutional authority and relational authority. In institutional-leaning markets such as Singapore, Mainland China, and Hong Kong SAR, consumers place more weight on official sources, mainstream media, and corporate channels. In Singapore, 61 per cent find government or official sources the most believable on important issues. In relational-leaning markets such as Australia and the Philippines, lived experience and word-of-mouth carry more weight. In Australia, 54 per cent cite people with lived experience as highly believable.

• Action matters more than apology - the outlook for reputation recovery remains positive in the APAC region, with 85 per cent of respondents saying lost belief can be regained, while 11 per cent say it is lost forever. However, consumers demand active, operational correction (57 per cent) over public acknowledgement (46 per cent).

• Generations leave and return in different ways - Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to disengage due to lost belief (75 per cent), compared with 58 per cent of Baby Boomers. However, younger consumers are also more open to recovery. Across APAC, 89 per cent of Gen Z say belief can be restored, compared with 78 per cent of Baby Boomers. What they need from brands differs. Gen Z and Millennials place more weight on business ethics and the credibility of associated influencers, while Baby Boomers and Gen X are more likely to be pushed away by product failure and unresponsiveness.

Why it matters for communications professionals

• Reputation strategy has to go beyond monitoring social media sentiment and public complaints. Brands need to spot silent disengagement before it results in long-term revenue loss.

• Communicators can bridge internal departments, including PR, corporate affairs, customer experience, and sales, to support a stronger integrated reputation strategy.

• Strong delivery of core products and services must come before purpose-led advocacy. Authenticity without foundational competence is increasingly viewed as a credibility liability.

• Reputation strategy needs to account for differences by market and generation. Effective strategy depends on understanding different expectations around sources, evidence, and recovery.

• Prioritise action in crisis response. Acknowledgement matters, but operational correction matters more.

Financial and corporate communications agency, Honner is joining FINN Partners. The move expands FINN's Asia Pacific footprint to Australia and taps into the country's fast-growing investment sector.

The 25-strong Honner team in Sydney will join FINN's global footprint, bringing its worldwide office count to 37, and expanding its APAC team to around 250 people.

Honner founder, Philippa Honner (pictured with FINN CEO, Peter Finn), joins FINN as Managing Partner and FINN Financial Services Practice Lead for APAC, with a mandate of expanding FINN’s financial services practice throughout the Asia Pacific region, including further building the agency’s foothold in the Australian market. She will also become a member of the APAC leadership team and work closely with regional leaders in Greater China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.

In announcing the move, FINN Partners said the acquisition reflects Australia’s growing strategic importance in powering Asia’s evolving financial services ecosystem, spanning both traditional capital markets and the next generation of digital financial infrastructure.

Howard Solomon, FINN founding Managing Partner and APAC lead will oversee Honner.

"Australia is a key growth market in the region and one we have been looking at very carefully for years. This move further deepens our financial services expertise in APAC and gives us critical mass to support the growing demand from both local and global financial brands in the region. We are very pleased to welcome the Honner team and look forward to growing our collective presence.”

Peter Finn, FINN CEO and founding partner added: "This acquisition builds on the momentum we’ve established across APAC, including last year’s acquisition of RICE Communications. FINN’s APAC business has grown significantly, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of the firm’s global fees. With Honner joining the firm, FINN APAC now has approximately USD$19 million in fees, further strengthening our ability to serve clients seamlessly across the US, EMEA and APAC.”

Honner Founder, Philippa Honner said it was an exciting next step for the Honner team and the agency's clients: "Joining forces with FINN gives us an incredible platform to progress our ambitions to be the leading marketing and communications agency supporting corporate and financial brands across APAC. 

“We look forward to working closely with our FINN colleagues across the region and spending time with our clients to demonstrate the impact of tailored communications strategies across complex APAC markets.”

The agency will be known as “Honner, A FINN Partners Company”. All Honner employees will become FINN employees.

Real Chemistry, a global AI and insights-driven healthcare communications firm, has announced the acquisition of Spurwing Communications, establishing the company’s first APAC strategic hub in Singapore.

“APAC is fast becoming one of the most dynamic and strategically important regions for healthcare innovation and access to life-improving therapies,” said Kath Harrison, Group President, International Growth at Real Chemistry. “By bringing Spurwing into Real Chemistry, we’re expanding our presence in the region and deepening our ability to help clients drive measurable impact by delivering more connected, data-driven and culturally relevant engagement across these key markets.”

Founded in Singapore, Spurwing Communications has advised pharmaceutical and healthcare organisations, as well as clients across industries, throughout APAC. Emma Thompson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Spurwing Communications, will continue to lead the business as President, APAC Growth, and will report to Kath.

“Joining Real Chemistry allows us to broaden what we can offer clients, while staying grounded in the strong regional expertise and senior counsel for which our clients value us,” said Emma. “I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved as a team and excited for the next phase of our growth as part of Real Chemistry. We will continue to support our existing clients while expanding our APAC presence and adding capabilities - including analytics and AI - to enhance our connected, comprehensive regional offerings.”

“Real Chemistry’s acquisition of Spurwing Communications is an important step in our global growth strategy,” said Shankar Narayanan, CEO of Real Chemistry. “We’re continuing to invest in the capabilities and regions that matter most to our clients as they navigate growing global commercialisation challenges. Strengthening our presence in APAC allows us to better support clients across the full lifecycle - from strategy through engagement - in one of the most dynamic healthcare markets in the world.”