Brazil’s Confidence Advantage: How Communicators Can Turn Optimism into Action

In a time when public confidence in business is fragile worldwide, Brazil stands out as a market where optimism endures. At the same time, the most senior communicators must work collaboratively to continue to raise that level of trust and confidence in Brazil’s business. In turn, chief communication officers can demonstrate how their units have created enterprise-level value toward achieving their companies’ core goals and objectives. 

The 2025 Page Confidence in Business Index, produced in partnership with the Harris Poll, surveyed more than 15,000 people across 15 markets, shows that global confidence in business is at just 26%.  Yet in Brazil, optimism remains comparatively strong, with higher-than-average confidence that companies can make a positive impact on critical societal issues. In fact, Brazil is ahead of Mexico, Canada and the United States and was among the top five of the list. This is a valuable asset and a responsibility for Brazil’s business leaders and their communicators.

Where Brazil Stands Globally

The issues that stood out to consumers where businesses could increase confidence in Brazil, listed in level of importance, are economic growth, job creation, environmental issues, mental health issues, research and technological innovation, and corruption. Our Confidence in Business Index research shows that when companies not only act on these priorities but also explain the context around those actions, confidence increases significantly. For example, Reuters reported that while Brazil’s unemployment rate rose during the first quarter of 2025, job creation still grew. To increase confidence in a company, a professional communicator would focus on explaining how their company is helping to create jobs, backing it up with evidence, and proactively helping community members learn how to access these opportunities. 

The story becomes even more compelling when linked to broader public priorities, demonstrating, for instance, how job creation strengthens economic stability, advances environmental initiatives, or expands mental health benefits for employees. And if the company is not addressing these areas, the communications executive should work with key internal leaders to develop and implement such initiatives, thus serving as a strategic corporate partner driving meaningful action, not just crafting messages.

The Page Principles in Action

Brazil’s confidence advantage is not a given—it must be earned and sustained. The Page Principles, which guide our community of senior communications executives, offer a proven framework.

First, tell the truth. According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, globally, 68% of consumers fear that business leaders are lying to them. In Brazil, trust is comparatively higher, but still fragile. Telling the truth means being transparent about intentions, successes, and shortcomings, and proving those words with action, which is precisely the second Page Principle. Words are insufficient; therefore, Page’s Confidence in Business Report reinforces that volume is not the answer; clarity and context are. Explaining how and why decisions are made, and showing concrete results, builds credibility. To do this, communicators must apply the Page Principle of listening to stakeholders and communicating through channels they trust.

The choice of communication channels matters. In 2025, Edelman reported that globally, 70% of consumers fear that journalists and reporters are lying. Likewise, the Reuters Institute on Journalism reported in 2025 that Brazilian consumers’ trust in media has declined significantly from 62% in 2016 to only 42% in 2025. Traditional broadcast and print media have declined, while podcasts and streaming platforms like YouTube are on the rise in Brazil, according to Reuters. These offer new opportunities to provide richer context and demonstrate visible action to increase their confidence in business, but only if the corporate actions can be seen specifically.

One of the biggest assets that corporations have in communicating externally is their employees. The Edelman Trust Barometer showed that while trust in employers is five points lower than previously reported, 79% of Brazilians still trust their employers, which is higher than in the U.S. and Canada. Page Principles emphasize that an enterprise’s true character is demonstrated by its people. Therefore, focusing on internal stakeholders and helping them to understand corporate actions remains critical. Equipping employees with clear, fact-based messages about the company’s actions not only reinforces internal alignment but also strengthens credibility externally.

The Opportunity Ahead

Fred Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, told Page members in March at its annual Spring Seminar, that communications should “provide light, not heat.” In practice, that means focusing on factual key business impacts, monitoring issues without overreacting to every social media post, and helping demonstrate what the corporation’s character is as actualized in its purpose, values, mission, culture and its people.

Brazil’s business leaders and their communicators have an opportunity to model what confidence in action looks like for the world. It starts with telling the truth, proving it with action, and ensuring those stories reach the people who matter most. In doing so, Brazil can not only sustain its own optimism but also offer lessons to global peers navigating an era of low trust.

Rochelle Ford

Rochelle L. Ford, Ph.D., APR, is the CEO of Page, the leading global organization of senior communication leaders. An accomplished academic, nonprofit executive, and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), Rochelle has a proven record of driving innovation, mentoring future leaders, and strengthening the communication profession. She served as president of Dillard University, where she reinforced the institution’s financial health, elevated its reputation, and championed diversity. At Elon University, she enhanced academic programs as dean of the School of Communications. As chair of the Department of Public Relations at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, she led the program that earned PRWeek’s Education Program of the Year award. Her career reflects a deep commitment to excellence in leadership and to shaping the future of the profession.