SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global consultancy Prophet announced the results of the fourth Prophet Brand Relevance Index® (BRI), a ranking of the most relevant brands in consumers' lives today. Apple maintained its standing as the most relevant brand for the fourth year in a row, while KitchenAid and Nike moved into the top ten, replacing Disney and Pixar. Pinterest remains the highest ranking social media brand for the third year in a row, but there were many other changes to this year’s top 50 with the addition of several new brands. These include: Uber, Fitbit, Dyson, Turbo Tax, Folgers, Chevrolet, Ford, Clorox and Ben & Jerry’s.
The top ten most relevant brands are:
- Apple
- Amazon
- Netflix
- Android
- Samsung
- KitchenAid
- Spotify
- Nike
The majority of the top 10 brands are technology-led, proving that the most compelling brand experiences happen on demand, across devices and channels – not in one space or during one interaction.
“This is our fourth Brand Relevance Index in the U.S, and it’s clear that the brands that continue to put users at the center of everything they’re doing are winning,” said Scott Davis, Chief Growth Officer at Prophet. “Brands like Apple, Amazon and Pinterest that scored the highest in our Index all offer services and create experiences that have become essential in the lives of consumers, meeting important needs and making life easier. They understand that in order to remain relevant in consumers’ lives they must be contextual, personalized, adapt to their circumstances and be available when and where they want them. The brands that do this well are customer-obsessed, focus on ‘surprising and delighting’ and do it in a different way than they would have 10 or 20 years ago. They’ve found a way to break through in an always-on brand environment where living brand experiences are becoming the expectation.”
In order to find out which brands are the most relevant, Prophet surveyed 12,694 U.S. consumers about more than 299 brands across 37 industries. It measured four brand principles: customer obsession, ruthless pragmatism, pervasive innovation, and distinctive inspiration.
"Direct feedback from consumers is what makes the BRI ranking so unique. Because our findings are driven by consumer input on the drivers of brand relevance, we can uncover critical differences and insights," said Jesse Purewal, Associate Partner and co-author of the Prophet Brand Relevance Index®. "Through this methodology, we can determine which brands are truly indispensable in people's lives and poised for breakthrough growth. In fact, our data reveals that the revenue growth of the most relevant brands have outperformed the S&P 500 average by 28% over the last decade. The BRI helps business and brand leaders measure how central their brands are to consumers’ lives and provides them with a practical framework for making their brands more relevant and unlocking new sources of growth.”
Key Findings
There are several findings from the report that reveal major changes in the way consumers interact with brands and what's important to them. For example, both sharing economy and digital gaming brands continue to grow, which points to the ongoing shifts in the way people engage with each other, both socially and through commerce. Also, brands that facilitate the discovery of new content retain relevance. For example, Pinterest (#3) and Spotify (#9) continuously surprise and delight users through their dynamic, AI-driven content feeds.
Here are some key findings:
- Sharing economy brands are on the rise. Uber joined the top 50 at #49, and Airbnb rose 56 spots to #99. In addition, both Uber (#49) and Lyft (#55) have pushed through controversies by innovating to become more essential than ever in customers lives.
- Legacy brands and household staples are innovating. Kitchen-Aid (#8) and Dyson (#48) are staying relevant by innovating new products and offerings, while still maintaining dependability and quality.
- American Made is once again relevant in the U.S. auto market. For the first time, Ford at #45 and Chevrolet at #47 cracked the top 50, joining Toyota at #29, Honda at #31. Chevy in particular has built relevance with Millennials through a commitment to bringing new technology and connectivity to their cars while fixing reliability issues. On the broader list are Tesla at #152 and Jeep at #156.
- Digital gaming continues to grow. There were more gaming platforms in top 50 than financial services, airlines and restaurants brands combined. PlayStation comes in at #13, and Xbox and Electronic Arts ranked higher than household names like Visa, Starbucks and Ford.
“When a brand is relentlessly relevant, consumers cannot imagine living without it. It becomes indispensable to their lives, and that translates to a healthy bottom line and robust growth,” said Davis.
Global Results
The Prophet Brand Relevance Index® is released in four countries -- China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Apple was the top brand in the U.S., UK and Germany, and Android ranked in the top 10 in each country. In China, Alipay retained the top spot.
"The BRI data from across the globe shows that companies have a choice between putting digital at the front and center of their business model or losing relevance with a whole generation of consumers," said Purewal.
Methodology
Prophet surveyed 47,845 consumers across the U.S., UK, Germany and China about 800 brands. It partnered with Research Now SSI, the world’s leading global provider of first-party consumer and professional data based on extensive, proprietary market research panels, to program, field, collect and tabulate data.
In the U.S., Prophet surveyed 12,694 consumers about more than 299 brands across 37 industries. Companies from all industries that contribute materially to U.S. household spend were included, except brands in the tobacco and firearms categories or those engaged in primarily business-to-business categories. In some cases, smaller companies that are driving change in their respective industries were also included given their significant traction with consumers. The data was sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' February 2016 Report on Consumer Expenditures (U.S.) Each participating consumer rated up to five brands within a single category on 16 different attributes that correspond to the four principles of relevance Prophet identified. To rate a brand, a consumer had to be familiar with the brand and a frequent consumer in the brand's category. More information about the methodology can be found at https://www.prophet.com/relevantbrands-2018/methodology.
The complete results of the Prophet Brand Relevance Index® from the U.S., UK, Germany and China can be found here: https://www.prophet.com/relevantbrands-2018.
To learn more about how Prophet can help your brand become more relevant, contact Catherine Strotmeyer at cstrotmeyer@prophet.com.
About Prophet
Prophet is a global brand and marketing consultancy that fuses insights, strategy, creativity and imagination to help clients grow better brands and businesses. We uncover deeper customer insights, build stronger brand relevance and deliver engaging customer experiences for some of the world's most successful companies such as Electrolux, T-Mobile, GE, Keurig Green Mountain, UBS, Gatorade, Cisco, Target, and ThyssenKrupp AG. Our 300+ experts in marketing, innovation, digital and design help companies bridge the gap between strategy and execution to drive real market impact. www.prophet.com
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