Top Brands for 2010 (so far)

from MarketingCharts.com:

Top Brands Offer Value

Consumers are most interested in brands that offer value for the dollar, and not just low price, according to the Brand Keys 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index.

The Index, which tracks 518 brands in 71 categories, demonstrates that consumers are becoming more brand-conscious and looking for established “real” brands that offer value, as opposed to brands which are endorsed by celebrities or heavily publicized.

“Given the levels of commoditization we’ve witnessed in the past decade, it’s no surprise that consumers are looking for brands to make a difference,” said Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president. “The consumer value equation has shifted dramatically from ‘price-value’ to ‘value-for-dollar.’ The undeniable fact is that consumers looking for value have been forced to look beyond mere primacy of product, price and service. With increased standardization and decreased product differentiation, a real brand can serve up the value consumers expect.”

A look at the top-ranked brands in the 2010 edition of the Index shows that while consumers favor a number of low-price brands, such as Jet Blue Airlines and Hyundai, they also favor some pricier brands with a reputation for quality, such as J. Crew and Apple. Well-established brands, including Budwesier, Cheerios, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, and Wal-Mart, are also prevalent on the list.

Brand Keys 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index Selected Top Brands

Airlines: JetBlue
Athletic Footwear: New Balance/Nike
Automotive: Hyundai
Beer (Regular): Budweiser
Breakfast Cereal (Adult): Cheerios
Breakfast Cereal (Children): Lucky Charms
Clothing Catalogs: J. Crew
Coffee: Dunkin’ Donuts
Computers (Laptops): Apple
Computers (Netbooks): Acer/Samsung
Digital Camera (SLR): Canon/Nikon
Digital Camera (Point-and-Shoot): Kodak
DVD Player: Samsung
HDTV (LCD): Samsung/Sony
HDTV (Plasma) Samsung
Laundry Detergent: Tide
Long Distance Providers: Verizon
Online Books & Music: Amazon.com
Online Travel Sites: Expedia.com/Kayak
Paper Towels: Bounty/7th Generation
Pizza: Domino’s
Quick-Serve Restaurant: McDonald’s
Retail Apparel: J. Crew
Retail Discount: Wal-Mart
Search Engine: Bing/Google
Soft Drink (Regular): Pepsi
Vodka: Grey Goose
Wireless Smartphone: Apple
Wireless Carrier: AT&T Wireless

Restraint, Value Top Consumer Priorities for 2010

Recent research from Nielsen on top CPG trends for 2010 support the 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index’s finding that consumers are seeking value for the dollar. Nielsen predicts that consumer constraint will become the “new normal,” with US consumers have unemployment and other economic concerns at the top of their mind. Concurrently with this tendency toward restraint, consumers will also focus on value, with widespread discounting forcing brands to differentiate themselves beyond simple low price.

About the Survey: For Brand Keys’ 2010 survey, 33,500 consumers ages 18-65, drawn from the nine US Census Regions, self-selected the categories in which they are consumers, and the brands for which they are customers. They were interviewed by phone, face-to-face and online.

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