With the participation of more than 1,400 people during the months of December 2009, Allegro 234 conducted the “Coolest & Gaps Branding Survey”.
This survey is the first in which the question about the coolest brand has been opened without a predetermined list [spontaneous, not induced].
Through various media and online blogs, the survey has achieved a high participation level
- 1,444 participants [valid answers]; 10% more than in 2008
- Europe 45%, the Americas 45% and Asia 5% [47 countries]
- 85% of participants working in areas related to branding, marketing, communications and PR
Coolest
The five coolest brands are:
- Apple [with more than double of mentions than the second one]
- Coca-Cola
- Nike
- Starbucks
- Virgin
A group of brands that follows the top five, includes Amazon, Google, Corona, Lonely Planet and Marriot
Brands like Vueling, Illy, Burton, REI and Patagonia continue being part of the coolest ones at continental and country levels
Even as these are the coolest brands, participants also recognize that there are things to improve:
- Responsibility: Brands are perceived as not enough attentive to social responsibility and environmental issues
- Services: People is failing [not living the values that the brand promises]
- Price: Brand premium price
Finally, two important issues:
- Communication is only part of the experience [Companies in the telecommunications sector and financial institutions have rarely been mentioned, less than 1%]
- Coolest brand Experiences are those which are giving real value
Gaps
On average, it is recognized that all companies, regardless of the sector they belong to, need to work on their brand experience
- Those working in areas related to branding are more pessimistic than the non-related people
- People fail to decode the message [marketing speaks a language that only they understand]
- The aspirational is difficult to achieve and produces frustration [is sensed a lack of authenticity and realism]
Finally, in regard to the internal branding experience, 57% (80% more than in 2008) of participants believed that it is inappropriate and/or partially adequate in their business
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