Who is tops in “brand buzz” and what’s missing?
In a sound byte on MSNBC, I noticed a report by a consulting and research firm that claims to have an index that shows “buzz rankings.” So I had to click through to the 2010 Annual BrandIndex Buzz Rankings by YouGov.com!
The highest Buzz Rankings for 2010, according to the BrandIndex:
1.Subway
2.History Channel
3.Ford
4.Lowe’s
5.Google
Interesting that Ford had not appeared on the list of the top 50 brands in 2009 but made it to Number 3 in 2010! Did that many more people decide to buy Ford products or did positive press influence consumer perception of the brand? Another shift was that Google was Number 1 on the 2009 lineup but has fallen to Number 5 being replaced by Subway. With “just Google it” as a verb, it seems that being displaced by a fast food chain suggests there is more behind that Subway has done to influence the element of brand buzz.
Missing?
Not listed in the Top 50 was a financial institution. In fact, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Washington Mutual, and Wachovia had very negative brand buzz scores in 2009, and while improved, they still had negative brand buzz for 2010.
How do we relate “brand buzz” to consumer mood and actual purchase of products and services? While the perception of banking from the brand buzz list suggests the banking brands are making a slight comeback in “buzz,” there is a long way to go. Because major banking institutions like Bank of America have more than 45 million customers, it is easy to correlate the negative buzz with dissatisfaction. However, banks are brands in the background of running your life and the choice of a financial institution often is not considered on a regular basis.
How did your favorite brands do?
Check here: In adding up the ones that I have actually used or purchased, the total was 35 out of the 50.
When thinking about branding and the issue of showing value in a “brand,” it is interesting to see how they rank and track brand “buzz!” Makes a marketer also ask, “What are these brands doing to create the buzz?”