American consumers have become less trusting of companies based in New York City and on the West Coast than they are of companies with headquarters in the heartland, a new study shows.

In the aftermath of the worst recession and financial crisis since the ’30s, 39 percent of 1,000 consumers older than age 18 say their trust in New York City-based companies has declined, compared with 36 percent for companies on the West Coast and 20 percent for companies based in the Midwest.

On the flip side, when asked which companies share their values, 54 percent of poll participants picked heartland-based companies, compared with 29 percent for New York City companies, according to the Mellman Group, a public-opinion research company based in Washington that conducted the poll last month.

The poll shows that consumer perceptions, crucial to purchasing decisions and brand loyalty, can be affected by events not directly related to the quality or price of a company’s products or services, said Rick Milenthal, president and CEO of Columbus-based Engauge, a marketing firm.

“Do most consumers actually know where companies are based? I doubt it,” Milenthal said. But “advertisers and marketers need to better understand what drives consumer perceptions and decisions.”

The national poll bolsters findings of the Columbus Project, an Engauge research project. The company has been tracking the purchasing and media habits of 100 local families since 2007. The researchers spend time in consumers’ homes, monitoring their use of TV, newspapers, computers, cell phones and other media and how consumers react when any of those media are eliminated for a day or a week at a time.

In an era of greater consumer control of how and whether they take in marketing messages, “it’s not just price, price, price” that determines which products a consumer buys, Milenthal said.

For example, Nationwide Insurance, based in Columbus, took over sponsorship of NASCAR’s Saturday race series in 2008. The move has improved brand awareness and brand appearance, and has resulted in an increase in customers for the national insurer, said Becky Cox, a Nationwide spokeswoman. She said the company plans soon to reveal more about what “has been the really big success” of sponsoring a race series with 75 million fans.

Milenthal cites other examples, including the 2007 launch of TV personality Rachael Ray’s Nutrish dog food from DAD’S Pet Food, based in Meadville, Pa. The product achieved national distribution in a year rather than the typical three by focusing on the manufacturer’s Midwestern roots and the heartland appeal of Ray, a down-to-earth cook who has a popular daytime show and monthly magazine.

In a recent appearance by Milenthal on cable network CNBC’s Power Lunch program, one of the on-air anchors asked whether the survey was designed to attract more business to the Columbus area.

But others back up Milenthal’s views, including Larry Gerbrandt, a market-research expert and principal at Los Angeles-based Media Valuation Partners.
“The heartland and the Midwest region of the country will drive economic recovery for all media platforms,” Gerbrandt said in a statement. The poll is “an important wake-up call for how we move this country toward a speedier economic recovery and more optimistic jobs outlook.”