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By Ayesha Salim, Content Lead

February 5, 2018 | 3 min read

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What makes consumers fall in love with brands in the first place? How can brands keep them loyal? These are some of the questions that keeps marketers awake at night. Oath, a house of media and technology brands, decided to find out by partnering with Kantar Consulting to explore the drivers behind Brand Love.

Based on 150,000 consumers across 13 markets, and using a combination of in-depth research, executive interviews and proprietary quantitative data, Oath was able to deduce nuances between generations, industries and markets, with results of what actually moves consumers. For instance, it found that trust forms a big part in driving love in the tech and telecom sector. While in retail what matters more is going above and beyond for the customer – to ensure they have a seamless and personal experience.

According to the Brand Love Index, there are six key drivers of brand love, and a brand can be measured by how well it exceeds needs, sets trends, shares values, builds trust, elevates experiences, and respects consumers. Some of the brands successfully building brand love include Nationwide, British Airways, Apple and Boots.

In an interview with The Drum about the findings, Stuart Flint, vice president EMEA at Oath, said the study enabled Oath to finally understand what drives consumer behaviour and why they love the brands that they do.

“Combining this research and the proprietary data that we have across one billion consumers globally, really helps us solve those complex business challenges for our customers,” he said.

So what are the key ingredients brands need to pay attention to? The study finds “exceeds needs” to be the top driver, contributing to 32% of the overall Brand Love score. These are the brands that consistently outperform and over-deliver, anticipating their consumers needs and giving them what they want before they even ask.

In addition, the study further reveals “builds trust” to be the second biggest driver – confirming that there is no love without trust. Consumers also look favourably at brands that share the same values as them, continually receive extraordinary experiences and are made to feel respected by brands.

Selma Ali, head of strategic insights EMEA at Oath, said marketers can use this data to better inform their campaigns and build meaningful content partnerships.

“We know that millennials worship innovation. So, it’s no surprise that their Brand Love is influenced much more by “setting trends” than consumers over 35,” she said. “Conversely, to build love among the over 35s, we need to top up on “building trust”.

What’s next? Oath are in the midst of incorporating the six drivers into their proprietary ad effectiveness measures, so brands can measure brand love in short and long-term capacities. They are also building the Brand Love Index study into its own ad effectiveness measurement, so advertisers can track how well their campaigns are delivering against these drivers for their audiences.

Watch the full video above for more insights.

Oath Brand Love Research

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