Created by Adrian Elton.
How can Optus regain trust with Australian customers?
The answer is with humility, radical transparency and decency in practice, according to industry professionals.
Optus is once again at the forefront of Australian press as it takes its third Triple-Zero outage in September, now under investigation of being tied to three deaths.
This is not long before Optus’s owner, Singtel, which holds $8.2 billion in income, was revealed to have not paid any tax in the 2023-2024 financial year.
Roy Morgan chief executive officer Michele Levine told AdNews that Optus is confronting a distrust crisis.
“When Australians hear that Triple-Zero calls failed during a 13-hour outage, with at least three deaths now linked, the social licence cost of distrust is immediate and profound,” Levine said.
“Trust builds slowly, but distrust destroys in an instant.
“It is no longer just about customer dissatisfaction, it’s about Australians actively turning away, and in many cases, urging others to avoid the brand.”
The recent outages follow not long after the nationwide outage in 2023, which led to a $12 million ACMA penalty for emergency call breaches.
Optus also experienced a data breach that exposed millions of customers’ personal information in 2022.
“Distrust makes a brand fragile. It attracts churn to competitors, invites regulatory scrutiny and sparks government intervention. This is not a marketing challenge alone; it’s a legitimacy challenge,” Lavine said.
“Optus must show humility, radical transparency and decency in practice. Until then, Australians will continue to see Optus not as a trusted brand, but as a risk to avoid.”
Optus was the most distrusted brand in Australia before being quickly overtaken by Woolworths and Coles, according to Roy Morgan’s Risk Monitor.
Ninety-two per cent of brands have not recovered within 12 months of a major brand crisis, according to Roy Morgan. Half remain unrecovered after four years and some never recover.
RMIT University senior lecturer Dr Amanda Spry believes must first focus on crisis management =before Optus can start rebuilding trust.
“That means full transparency through a deep and systematic investigation into what went wrong and a commitment to using its findings to inform meaningful changes in practice and protocol," Spry said.
“Optus has now indicated it will welcome external expertise and is cooperating with government on accountability measures, including announcing an independent review.
"Optus made similar promises after the November 2023 Triple Zero outage but did not follow through.”
Spry said that restoring trust will require visible investment in the reliability and resilience of its core services, rebuilding relationships with the community, using opportunities to help improve public safety and demonstrate genuine leadership.
“Partnerships with emergency services could be one way forward - signalling a commitment to public safety," she said.
"Optus should also revisit the areas where its brand has historically been strongest: community investment, sponsorships and brand communications built around the enduring power of its 'Yes' tagline.
“Only once Optus has genuinely and effectively addressed the immediate crisis can it begin to restore goodwill and trust in its brand.”
Optus has paused advertising with its creative incumbent, Droga5, as it addresses the outages.
Independent creative Adrian Elton believes Optus will need to "own" its mistakes in its advertising for customers to take notice.
“There's nothing that Optus could say using the normal modes of advertising that wouldn't come across as disingenuous,” Elton said.
“The more earnest and heartfelt, the more inherently untrustworthy.
“The only way forward is for Optus to grapple with some 'truth-telling'.
“They need to 'own it' and be seen to be putting their money where their mouth is.
“This would include Optus assuming the associated costs of cutting customers loose from their contracts.
“It could also include a NO fees for the rest of the year as a tangible act of contrition for those that choose to stay with them.”
Levine said that Optus must put customer safety and welfare at the forefront of its branding.
“That means showing how systems are being rebuilt, not just saying they are,” she said.
“Second, it must practice radical transparency. Australians will not accept vague apologies or spin. They want to see Optus owning its failures, publishing clear timelines and opening itself up to independent scrutiny.
“It must embody a principle of decency and realise that trust is not rebuilt with one campaign or one quarter’s results.
"If the company demonstrates humility and allows others to hold it accountable, then over time Australians may begin to extend the benefit of the doubt again.
“If Optus keeps its YES market positioning, it needs to live it every day.”
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