What do you get when you mix consumer perceptions of a brand’s quality, value, satisfaction, and reputation, along with impressions of the brand and propensity to recommend it? Overall brand health, per YouGov’s BrandIndex, which has released a list of the brands that top the charts as rated by adults in the US.
YouGov’s BrandIndex score is derived by taking the average of the above-referenced components and ranking the highest brands from 1630 tracked for at least 6 months during a year-long period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
So is it Amazon? Well, seemingly for once in a brand ranking, no. Instead Band-Aid is the top-scoring brand with an index of 58.1 on a 100-point scale. A previous ranking from YouGov had Band-Aid as the second-leading brand among mothers, while an earlier ranking than that pegged it as the brand with the best impression among adult women.
Band-Aid is followed rather closely by Amazon.com, with its score of 55.0. Earlier this year the e-commerce behemoth was ranked the most reputable company in the US, and was second only to Apple in a ranking of the most “intimate” brands. It was also the brand with the best “buzz” last year, per YouGov.
Other notable entrants into YouGov’s latest BrandIndex rankings include:
- Hershey’s (#4);
- Google (#5); and
- Netflix (#7).
Of the top 10 brands on YouGov’s list, 3 (Amazon, Google and Netflix) also appeared in a recent ranking of the most loved brands on social media.
Which Brands Are Improving the Most?
YouGov’s data release also includes a look at the brands that have enjoyed the biggest improvement in Index score from the previous year-long period of analysis.
Samsung leads that list, with a 5.4-point increase in score to 43.4, leaving it not far outside of the top 10 overall (Craftsman, at #10, had a score of 45.0).
Galaxy was the next-largest improver, though its 4.3-point hike brought it only to a score of 19.2.
And interestingly enough, while Amazon Alexa was third on the list of improvers, its Brand Health score was a modest 14.3. (Scores range from -100 to +100.)
Others to see significant improvements included Target (+3.8 to 30.1), Walmart (+3.7 to 23.7), Bank of America (+3.7 to 0.2) and Hulu (+3.7 to 19.6).
Industry Leaders in Brand Health
Finally, YouGov provided the top-ranking and most improved brands across a number of industries. Here’s a brief selection:
- Airlines: Top brand – Southwest (29.5); Most improved – Emirates (+0.8 to 6.3);
- Apparel & Footwear: Top brand – Nike (39.8); Most improved – Adidas (+3.2 to 33.0);
- Banks: Top brand – Chase (13.8); Most improved – Bank of America (+3.7 to 0.2);
- Cable & Satellite: Top brand – Verizon FIOS (3.8); Most improved – Dish Network (+1.0 to -6.3);
- Consumer Electronics: Top brand – Samsung (43.5); Most improved – Samsung (+5.4 to 43.5);
- Hotels: Top brand – Marriott (33.7); Most improved – Motel 6 (+1.8 to -7.1);
- Internet Search: Top brand – Google (45.9); Most improved – AOL (+0.1 to -0.6);
- Internet Social Media: Top brand – Google (45.9); Most improved – N/A;
- Retail Clothing: Top brand – Old Navy (29.2); Most improved – Forever 21 (+1.8 to 11.0); and
- TV Networks: Top brand – History Channel (37.6); Most improved – HLN (+2.3 to 2.4);
The full list of brands and top improvers can be found here.
