Five years of Most Connected Brands Index: what we have learned
The Most Connected Brands Index was created to help businesses and brands understand how they are connecting with consumers and provide them with ways to improve. Jack Tadman, associate director at Opinium, considers the usefulness of the framework and how brands can use this to understand brand connectiveness.
Opinium shares findings from its latest Most Connected Brand index / Alexander Shatov via Unsplash
When we began tracking in 2018, it’s fair to say that none of us had thought that we’d be sitting on a dataset that spanned the changes we’ve seen over the last five years.
During this time, we’ve tested 158 different brands using our validated framework, which uses a combination of four key brand metrics to produce a one-number summary of a brand’s ability to connect with consumers.
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Connected brands are indispensable to consumers’ daily lives. They challenge conventions, build unbreakable bonds and define how we interact. And they do this while remaining true to who they are.
Introducing the most Most Connected Brands
Out of the 158 brands we’ve tested, 62 have made our top 100 every single year.
These represent a spectrum of brands across technology, entertainment, FMCG, retail, supermarkets, fashion, automotive, telecoms and shoes.
Yes, shoes...
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Clarks, the mighty British leather and suede powerhouse founded in 1825, has consistently ranked within the top 75 brands over the last five years. What’s perhaps more remarkable is that not a single financial services brand has placed every year since 2018. Shoes > savings.
But outside of Clarks, there have been even greater success stories.
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Netflix has risen from 30th in our inaugural ranking in 2018 to placing within the top five over the last three years, while Aldi has gone from 21st to 5th during the same time period.
These brands, along with WhatsApp, Sky, Costa and BT, are brands that have been steadily improving their performance over the last five years.
An interesting mix of technology, supermarket, broadcast/telecoms and, erm, coffee house, right?
Well, the thing that links all of them is their ability to consistently drive three things: quickly coming to mind, eliciting a strong positive emotional response and meeting consumer needs with their products and services. Simple stuff, but it works.
Differences in 2022 v 2018
However, not all our power brands are on the way up. There are some that are potentially on their way to falling out, and the names might surprise you.
That’s right – the beloved/bemoaned BBC, innovation blowhard Dyson and global giants Coke and Virgin have all been tumbling in consumer connection.
The reason for these declines?
In this case, it’s not due to falling prominence or emotion, but instead in dynamism – that being a reduction in momentum and social traction in UK society.
We have long used this measure to identify whether a brand is on the up (or down), and now our data over five years is beginning to show why it is so important to measure not just how your brand is doing now, but also where it’s going.
To find out more about Most Connected Brands, or learn about how Opinium can help guide your brand strategy, get in touch here.
Content by The Drum Network member:
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We help our clients harness the power of insight to build, grow, promote and make strategic business decisions. Find out more at www.mostconnectedbrands.com
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