Google tops the list of Americans’ most-loved brands, according to recently-released research from Vision Critical. But expand the sample to consumers in 15 key markets around the world, and Google drops a couple of places. A new study from APCO Worldwide indicates that The Walt Disney Company is the world’s most-loved company with an emotional linking index of 74.7. The index measures consumers’ emotional attachment to companies across 8 dimensions, resulting in a score on a 100-point scale.
Following Disney are Yahoo! (74.3) and Google (74.2), neck and neck among consumers in emotional attachment, and also in a close race to be Americans’ top web property. Sony (74.1) is also right there in the mix at #4, with Nestlé rounding out the top 5 with an index score of 73.3.
French retail group Auchan (72.9) makes an appearance in the top 10 at #6, closely followed by Netflix (72.8), Whole Foods Market (72.7), Apple (72.7) and Lowe’s (72.5).
Some highlights from the list of top 100 “most-loved” companies include:
- Amazon coming in at #22, a fairly low ranking considering its position in the top 3 among Americans (according to the Vision Critical study);
- Microsoft just missing out on the top 10, in at #11;
- Facebook quite low on the list, at #81, the only social network to make the top 100;
- GE, the world’s 6th-most valuable brand, according to Interbrand, not cracking the top 100, with Toyota (#10) the only other of Interbrand’s top 10 not to make the list; and
- Tech companies performing particularly well in the “relevance” factor, with retail outperforming in “approachability,” and food and beverage in “pride.”
About the Data: The rankings are the result of a decade-long research project including a global survey of more than 600 of the world’s largest corporate brands among more than 70,000 individuals in 15 key markets around the world. The Emotional Linking model identified eight emotions that are critical to effective brand communication. These eight critical emotions are: Understanding, Approachability, Relevance, Admiration, Curiosity, Identification, Empowerment and Pride.