Lego is Brits' favourite brand, but Amazon named most 'relevant'
For the second year in a row, UK consumers have named Lego as their favourite brand. However, when asked to name the company they considered most relevant to their lives, Amazon took the crown.
Lego's accolade follows on from a year in which the toymaker managed to stave off slow sales and return to growth / Lego
After stealing the spotlight from British Airways last year, Lego has once again topped the annual Superbrands index, which each year invites 2500 British shoppers and industry experts to judge 1500 brands based on quality, reliability and distinction.
For 2019, Apple moved up one place to second in the overall rankings, reversing positions with Gillette which completed the top three.
Lego's accolade follows on from a year in which the toymaker managed to stave off slow sales and return to growth.
In 2018 its profits increased by 4% to £1.2bn, while sales were up 4%. The numbers marked a rebound from 2017, when the brand reported its first fall in sales and profits for 13 years, blaming the dip on growing competition from modern toys, and operational issues which had led it to produce too many bricks.
In the past 12 months though, Lego has premiered its long-awaited Lego Movie sequel and reaped the rewards of uniting entertainment franchises like Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics and Harry Potter in stores. It has also been increasingly investing in its in-house ad agency and experimenting with how technologies like the Amazon Echo can help it safeguard the future of its humble brick.
Rolex and British Airways, which celebrated its centenary year with a 'Love Letter to Britain' at the start of 2019 were ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
Most relevant brands
According to Superbrands, Amazon is the business Brits consider to be gaining the most relevance to people today.
Despite consumer concerns around its working practices, how much tax it pays and its market dominance, the retailer bet off 1,595 other brands in to top the ‘relevancy index’ rankings of the Superbrands research.
The relevancy index reduces the influence of longer-term goodwill and emotional bond on voters, focusing consumers’ minds on shifts in use and importance.
Discount grocer, Aldi, took second place, while rival Lidl placed sixth.
Revealing the nation’s growing concern over one of Britain’s top five causes of premature death, Macmillan Cancer Support came third in the relevancy rankings. Netflix clocked in at number four (moving up from eighth last year).
Google, meanwhile, completed the line up at number five, having placed at number nine in 2018.
YouTube also took a spot in the top 20. However, for the second year in a row – and following on from several high-profile scandals like Cambridge Analytica and questions over harmful content – Facebook and Instagram were nowhere to be seen among the top brands for relevancy.
Although tech behemoth Apple placed in the top 20 at number 16, rival Samsung was higher up in ninth position, potentially signalling an increasing shift in power between the two competitors.
Heathrow Airport, Google, Apple and Lego were the only brands in the top 20 relevancy index to also feature in the overall Superbrands top 20.
Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA) and chairman of Superbrands said: “The growing prevalence and importance of Amazon is again evident as it tops the Superbrands relevancy index.
"Those brands performing strongly in the relevancy index pose a threat to the more established brands, whether that is Aldi challenging the likes of Tesco or Purplebricks confronting traditional estate agents."
He noted that the brands toward the bottom of the relevancy list may have "troubled times ahead."
Many have already suffered fundamental business problems since the survey, he explained, including retailers like HMV, Carpetright, Oddbins, Mothercare and troubled department store House of Fraser.