Aldi tops YouGov BrandIndex for second consecutive year
Aldi has once again come out top in YouGov's annual BrandIndex poll, with rival discounter Lidl snapping at its heels.
The rankings reflect the work both brands have pushed out over the course of 2015 in terms of creative advertising, expansion and cemeting their position in the supermarket landscape as fierce competitors of the Big Four.
YouGov BrandIndex measures the public’s perception of brands on a daily basis across a range of measures. The annual rankings were compiled using Buzz scores from across the year, which measure whether people have heard good or bad news about a brand during the previous two weeks.
The top five brands are: Aldi, Lidl, BBC iPlayer, John Lewis and Dyson.
Yorkshire Tea's marketing drive in 2015, which included a limited edition packaging overhaul paid off for the brand as it entered into the top ten this year for the first time. The brand invested heavily in TV ads as well as marketing promotions such as the release of a special edition tea to mark the birth of Princess Charlotte.
The other top 10 brands are made up by YouTube, MoneySavingExpert.com, and Apple and Waitrose (in joint tenth).
Sarah Murphy, director of YouGov BrandIndex UK, said: “Aldi and Lidl hold the top two spots in our rankings for the second year in a row but their marketing strategies have evolved over the past 12 months. While they have always marketed themselves being value for money the emphasis now is on the quality side of that bargain and not just the cost.
“Their ongoing store opening programme, including plans for far larger stores, cements the impression that both Aldi and Lidl have made the leap from ‘challengers’ to central players in the industry. The embrace of the recommended living wage by both was popular among consumers, helping them stand out as brands that do right by their staff, particularly as some rivals were seen to be undecided on the issue.’’
The most improved brands in the poll include Co-operative Bank (which took the top spot) followed by Wonga, British Gas, The Co-operative and Royal Bank and Scotland.