Ladies in KSA prefer Apple to Almarai

Apple has beat dairy brand Almarai to become the top brand in the 2019 Women’s Choice Brand Rankings* by YouGov MENA for KSA. With new iPhones and Apple watches last year, the brand generated a lot of noise and has strengthened its appeal among women, YouGov said.

Almarai increased the price of milk in the past year, which generated substantial resentment among consumers. They took to social media to call for boycotts of the brand. Almarai’s perception among women in KSA declined subsequently, pulling it down from 1st to 5th place this year.

Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA: top 10.

The rankings were compiled using the Impression score from YouGov’s daily brand tracker, BrandIndex, asking respondents the question “Which of the following brands do you generally have a positive/negative feeling about?” over the past 12 months.

Apple’s smartphone brand, iPhone, is now in 2nd place.

Fast food restaurant chain Al Baik climbed from 7th in last year's YouGov BrandIndex Women's Rankings to 3rd this year.

Dettol has moved up to 6th from 8th last year while Fairy and Alrajhi Bank are new entrants at 8th and 9th respectively. Galaxy (the chocolate brand) made a re-entry into the list at 10th. It had dropped out last year.

Technology brands did not do well. Both WhatsApp and YouTube saw a decline in their rankings, slipping down to 4th and 7th respectively in 2019.

YouGov also revealed the 10 brands that made the largest improvement to their Impression scores over the past 12 months. Telco mada is the most improved brand of the past year among women with a change in score of +11.5, going from an Impression score of 23.2 in last year's YouGov BrandIndex Women's Rankings to 34.7 this year.

Food and beverage brands seem to be resonating well with women in LKSA. Some of the top brands such as Maestro Pizza (+8.7), Coca-Cola (+8.2), Pepsi (+7.4), Kinder (+7.0) and Tasali (+5.9) are in the list of the top 10 improvers.

Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings for KSA. The brands that improved the most year on year.

Chinese tech giant Huawei is also becoming popular amongst women and has shown a marked improvement in its score (+7.9), becoming the fourth best improver of 2019.

*The 501 brands in KSA in the YouGov BrandIndex were ranked using the Impression score, which asks respondents, “Overall, of which of the following brands do you have Positive/Negative impression?” Scores are net scores, calculated by subtracting the percentage of negative responses from the percentage of positive responses for each brand.

The Women’s Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Impression scores between February 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019. The Impression Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Impression comparing the scores for the 12 months ending January 31, 2019 and the 12-month period ending January 31, 2018. To be included, the year-over-year variance must be positive. Scores are representative amongst women.

All Impression scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; however, YouGov also used additional precision to assign ranks.

All brands had to be tracked for at least six months to be included in the rankings. They had to be tracked for at least six months in the prior year’s period (as well as be currently tracked) to appear in the movers' tables.

Dubai’s flag-carrier airline is the most impressive brand amongst women in the UAE

Source: YouGov. 2019 Women's Choice Rankings, top 10 for the UAE.

Emirates tops the UAE women’s YouGov BrandIndex Women's Rankings* for the 3rd time in a row, and has received the highest positive Impression score of +70.0 among women in the UAE. WhatsApp also holds on to second position this year, while Carrefour moves up one place in the list to 3rd, replacing Apple which has dropped one place to 4th.

The rankings were compiled using the Impression score from YouGov’s daily brand tracker, BrandIndex, by asking respondents, “Which of the following brands do you generally have a positive/negative feeling about?” over the past 12 months.

Last year Emirates paid a tribute to its female employees for International Women’s Day through a video entitled Superwomen flight. The movie showcased an all-female crew operating the flight from UAE to San Francisco, USA. The video created a lot of noise and was received positively.

Another brand that has managed to boost its Impression among women in the UAE is Samsung, which has moved up from 8th to 5th this year. Likewise, Almarai has improved its perception among women since its debut in 10th last year and is now in 9th place.

Baskin-Robbins has improved steadily year-on-year, and is in 6th this year. Facebook, on the other hand, exits the list in 2019.

The past year has been difficult for technology brands. Scores for those in the top 10 list declined year-on-year. Google and iPhone both move down two places from last year to 7th and 8th respectively, and YouTube has seen a consistent slide, from 6th in 2017 to 7th in 2018 and now at the bottom of the list in 10th for 2019.

YouGov also revealed the 10 brands that made the largest improvement to their Impression scores over the past 12 months. Coca-Cola is the most improved brand of the past year among women with a change in score of +10.1, going from an Impression score of 7.4 in 2018 to 17.5 in 2019.

Netflix’s original content may be one of the factors impressing women in the UAE as it has become the second-most improved brand with a score of 23.4 this year (up +9.9 from 13.5 last year). Fast-food chains like KFC and McDonald’s seem to be resonating well with women and have also registered improvement.

Newly-opened entertainment venue Warner Bros. World, fabric softener Downy and Chinese mobile giant Huawei are some of the other top improvers. Finally, food brands Lacnor and Sadia complete the list as the 9th and 10th most improved brands.

*The 586 brands in the UAE for the YouGov BrandIndex were ranked using the Impression score, which asks respondents, “Overall, of which of the following brands do you have Positive/Negative impression?” Scores are net scores, calculated by subtracting the percentage of negative responses from the percentage of positive responses for each brand.

The Women’s Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Impression scores between February 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019. The Impression Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Impression scores when comparing the scores for the 12 months ending January 31, 2019 and the 12-month period ending January 31, 2018. To be included the year-over-year variance must be positive. Scores are representative amongst women.

All Impression scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place. However, YouGov has used additional precision to assign ranks.

All brands must be tracked for at least six months to be included in the rankings, and must have been tracked for at least six months in the prior year’s period (as well as being currently tracked) to appear in the movers tables.

Garuda has the most brand advocates in Indonesia

Airline Garuda Indonesia has the strongest brand advocates among Indonesian consumers, an analysis from YouGov BrandIndex* has found.

The carrier heads the list with a score of 87.5, followed by Singapore Airlines (77.2) and Bank Central Asia (76.5).

YouGov’s rankings are a form of net promoter score and analyse which brands have the highest proportion of current and former customers recommending them to a family member or friend. The top 10 features a number of automotive brands. Toyota in 4th (75.9) while Honda appears twice - with Honda cars in 6th (75.2) and Honda motorcycles in 8th (74.4).

The list comprises of both global brands – such as Google in 7th (74.6) and Apple in 9th (74) place, and fashion retailer Nike scoring 10th (73.1). Local players include Traveloka in 5th place (75.4).

In terms of customer advocacy improvement Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is out on top (+10.7 points), ahead of cosmetics brand Maybelline and insurance company Prudential. The two brands came in at joint 2nd, each up by 10.1 points.

Ervin Ha, Head of Data Products, YouGov said: “Recommending a brand to friends and family is great indicator of how well a brand is performing, and Garuda has emerged a true winner in this regard. Capturing the attention and advocacy of consumers in a market as extensive as Indonesia is no easy feat, but Garuda has soared to the challenge.”

Source: YouGov. The top 10 list of brands most recommended by Indonesian consumers.

*The YouGov BrandIndex Brand Advocacy Rankings were calculated by measuring recommend scores among each brand’s customers for the twelve-month period through October 2018. Scores are calculated by subtracting the negative responses from the positive responses. Respondents were drawn from YouGov’s online panels of 6 million consumers across 38 markets. The index looks to give brands a good indication on how well or poorly they have been doing in terms of their customer service, as well as quality of services and products provided.

Tokyo and Bangkok are Singapore’s favourite business travel destinations

Business travellers in Singapore have rated Tokyo, Japan and Bangkok, Thailand as their top business and leisure travel destinations in a YouGov study for premium luggage brand Samsonite.

The survey found that Hong Kong is Singapore’s third-favourite business destination. Indian cities Mumbai and Bangalore as well as Indonesia's Jakarta were the least popular, according to more than 500 respondents who participated in the Smoother Journeys Survey. London and Tokyo tied for the top spot among business travellers aged below 34, while Tokyo was the top choice for those between 35 and 44. Those aged over 45 preferred Bangkok.

No.	Favourite business destinations		Least-favourite business destinations		Favourite leisure destinations
1	Tokyo	16%	Mumbai	19%	Tokyo	20%
2	Bangkok	14%	Bangalore	14%	Bangkok	18%
3	Hong Kong	12%	Jakarta	13%	London	10%
4	London	8%	Hong Kong	7%	Hong Kong	8%
5	New York City / Shanghai	8%	Shanghai	6%	Melbourne	7%

The Smoother Journeys study was undertaken to find out what drives Singapore business travellers, as well as some of the things they liked – and did not like. Overall, Samsonite found that one in five (22%) of Singaporeans enjoy overseas business travel a lot; 30% like it "a little", and 37% are ambivalent.

“The Smoother Journeys survey revealed some surprising insights,” said Satish Peerubandi, GM – Samsonite Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines & IndoChina. “For starters, we were surprised to see how strongly Asian cities did. We were also happy to see that a majority enjoyed business travel, even as it has a reputation for being tough for those who travel often. Only 11% of respondents said they did not enjoy business travel, with the majority liking it for the opportunities it brings.”

The study found that many Singapore business travellers enjoy the opportunity to visit new places (94%), leave Singapore for a short while (91%), and work in new environments (88%).

While 60% said they believe they travel “just the right amount", many still crave for their home comforts. Being apart from family and the fear of missing out on what is happening at home topped the reasons for people disliking business travel, with 57% and 41% of respondents selecting these reasons respectively.

Business travellers identified traffic jams, flight delays and airport transfers as the most significant stress creators during their trips. When it comes to things they have control over, factoring in downtime and more effective packing and luggage are essential, they said. The study found that those who enjoy business travel are also those who are more likely to undertake activities that will help alleviate stress. Many also allow for time to go to the gym or to shop, while close to half said they like to plan time for meals with colleagues or friends.

For a significant majority, efficient and effective packing was seen as a critical method to help ease stress, while many said that having a proper bag with easy access to laptops and toiletries when passing through airport security would improve their experience.

The Smoother Journeys survey was timed to coincide with the launch of Samsonite’s EVOA campaign. EVOA is an evolutionary luggage line that combines strength and style. Its Aero-Trac suspension wheel technology contributes to smoother journeys. 

Available in brushed black and brushed silver styles, EVOA is available in five sizes and specifications – starting with the carry-on classic 29-litre Spinner Rolling Tote to the 75 cm tall Spinner that can hold up to 124 litres. The range is also packed with internal organisers and features an integrated anti-theft zipper that provides maximum protection for important belongings.

“The Samsonite EVOA collection allows business travellers to travel in style without compromising on the functionality of their luggage and bags. The EVOA is a nod to modern minimalist aesthetics, while featuring Samsonite’s signature durability and innovative Aero-Trac suspension wheel technology. It is the absolute epitome of form and function,” added Peerubandi.

Other key findings:

- Younger women are more likely to travel then younger men (46% vs 26%).

- About half (52%) of business travellers spend an average of three to four days on business trips.

- Four in five admitted to working on the plane for some part of the flight, while 35% of business travellers put their time in the skies to productive use by working either 50% of the time or more.

- Looking professional while travelling for work is essential for Singapore’s business travellers. Fifty-three percent of travellers said they wore business attire while flying either half of the time or more, of which 75% said this was because they would go straight from the airport to work meetings.
The desire for style also extended to luggage, with 90% insisting that having professional products reflected positively on their appearance as businesspeople.

Source: Samsonite website. The ice blue colour on the left is a limited edition colour.

- Sixty-four percent of business travellers said that professional and well-designed luggage can help make their business trips smoother, and 68% are willing to invest in this.

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov. The sample size was 511 Singaporean adults who travel for business three or more times a year. Fieldwork was undertaken between 27 and 30 July 2018. The survey was carried out online.

Singapore embraces tech, homegrown brands in 2016

Source: Yougov Brandindex. Brand rankings for 2016.

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 reflect a love affair with local as well as digital brands in Singapore. Singapore Airlines, DBS bank and The Straits Times newspaper are in the list, as well as WhatsApp, and the Apple iPhone in the top three. Other tech brands include Facebook, Google, e-commerce marketplace Qoo10, and YouTube.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Source: Yougov Brandindex. Buzz brand ranking improvements from 2015 to 2016.

The Buzz Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Buzz comparing scores in years 2015 and 2016. Both scores are representative of the general population.

The top Buzz improvers were Malaysia Airlines (formerly called Malaysian Airlines), AirAsia and Huawei. Huawei in particular went from negative territory in 2015 to positive digits in 2016, while brand-next-door Malaysia Airlines' rankings are still negative, but doing better. Perception for both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia were likely affected by planes lost in 2014, and show a long tail effect on brand reputation. While Malaysia Airlines' flight MH370 has yet to be recovered at the time of writing, AirAsia did go from a low positive score in 2015 to a much higher one in 2016, showing it is possible to rebound.

Other highlights included:

+Quick service (QSR) restaurants and casual dining brands were all US brands, McDonald's, Starbucks and Subway. Bakery BreadTalk, McDonald's and local eatery EAT did best on Buzz improvements. In 2015 BreadTalk was caught repackaging another brand's prepackaged soy milk as its own home-made product, causing consumer unhappiness. This followed on from the bakery introducing a new "commemorative bun" while the nation was coming to terms with the death of Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew in March 2015. The product's name was a pun on the Lee family name, and proceeds were to go to charity.

+In the area of finance, DBS, DBS subsidiary POSB Bank and OCBC won out. Paypal, UBS and IG Markets made the most gains in Buzz, UBS and IG Markets from low positive scores. For insurance, NTUC Income, Prudential and Great Eastern are in the lead. Etiqa, Tenet Sompo - whose parent company comes from Japan - and Zurich Life made the most gains, all from low positive scores.

+For social media, Singapore prefers WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube. 'Other' Internet brands Google, LinkedIn, MSN and KakaoTalk were the Buzz improvement winners for the year. LinkedIn is 5th in the top five social media brands, whereas MSN and KakaoTalk made modest gains over smaller Buzz scores. Yahoo and Jobstreet were in the top three. Fastjobs, Baidu and Craigslist are the top Buzz improvers for the year. Baidu and Craigslist are still in negative territory however.

+The mobile space was a clean sweep for Apple with Apple's iPhone, Apple and the Apple iPad being the three brands named. Huawei, Nokia and OPPO demonstrated the most Buzz improvement, while Blackberry and Motorola came in at 4th and 5th on the Buzz improvement list gonig from more negative scores to nearly positive scores.

+News had its own Brandindex category in Singapore. Daily The Straits Times, Mediacorp's regional broadcaster Channel NewsAsia and Mediacorp's Today newspaper were in the top three, while online community Stomp, business publication The Edge and free Tamil language daily Tabla! made the most improvements in Buzz. Stomp and Tabla! are also owned by the same parent company as The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings.

+The fashion retailers list saw single-brand fashion retailers H&M, Uniqlo, and G2000 as the best known brands. Bershka saw a jump in Buzz gains.

+Airlines for travel that were the most well-known included Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Cathay Pacific. Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia and Air China did best on Buzz improvement. While Malaysia Airlines did best, it is still in negative territory whereas Air Asia went from negative to much more positive scoring. Air China and China Eastern Airlines made improvements but Buzz scores remained negative.

+Singapore hotels ironically included Airbnb as the lead brand, although it is an e-marketplace for private property. Shangri-La and Fullerton rounded out the top three. Hilton made the the most Buzz improvements for 2016. In December 2015 the false ceiling above the driveway at the hotel collapsed, damaging cars and sending people to hospital; the negative associations carried over to 2016.

+The e-commerce/m-commerce category saw e-marketplaces Qoo10 and Carousell followed by global e-marketplace Amazon take the lead. Amazon is not actually in Singapore, although it had announced plans to enter the market in Q117. It was later announced that the launch would be postponed. Lazada, e-supermarket Redmart and Hipvan grew in popularity over the last year. Lazada's 2016 score is lower than that for fashion e-tailer Zalora and Groupon - bought by Fave in March 2017 - which came in fourth and fifth place respectively.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

Thailand is very much into digital communications

Source: YouGov Brandindex. The Brandindex rankings for brands in Thailand for 2016.

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 reveal a liking for digital brands in Thailand. Facebook, Line and 7-Eleven are in the top three, with YouTube and Google in the top 10. Other tech brands include Apple iPhone and e-commerce marketplace Lazada.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Other highlights included:

+Automotive brands were all Japanese brands, namely Toyota, Honda (cars) and Mazda.

+Internet brands Facebook, Line and YouTube were the winners for the year.

+The mobile space had Apple and the Apple iPhone as the top two brands. Samsung ranked third while the Samsung Galaxy came in 5th.

+In the area of personal care, Nivea, Vaseline and Colgate won out.

+The retail list saw 7-Eleven, Tesco Lotus and Big C in the top three.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

KSA loves food, communications

Source: Yougov Brandindex. Top ranked-brands for KSA in 2016.

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 reflect an eclectic love affair for brands. Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016. According to YouGov:

1 Almarai (non-mover)

Source: YouGov Brandindex website. Almarai makes food and dairy products.

The largest vertically integrated dairy producer in the Middle East ignited social media in 2016 with the launch of its film on mother’s milk and its family-focused advertising. The mother’s milk video became the second most shared video on YouTube in the world in one week and came in globally as the 7th most shared video of 2016. This also made the brand the third-most popular fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand on Facebook with over 45 million views.

According to Euromonitor's Dairy in Saudi Arabia report, Almarai leads in the cheese, drinking milk as well as yoghurt and sour milk categories.

2 WhatsApp (up three places)

The world’s most popular messaging app has moved up from fifth place in 2015 to second place in 2016. The Facebook-owned app is one of the most popular ways to communicate in KSA.

3 Apple (non-mover)

The release of the new MacBook Pro, iOS 10 Software, the Apple Watch Series 2 and the iPhone 7 with wireless AirPods have not affected Apple’s rank greatly.

Source: ALBAIK Facebook page. Banner for Earth Hour 2017.

4 ALBAIK (non-mover)

ALBAIK has been making the headlines for its corporate social responsibility initiatives throughout 2016. The brand’s Please Park It Right community initiative received the Global SABRE Award as one of the world’s top 40 CSR programmes at end-2015. 2016 saw the kingdom’s leading quick service chicken restaurant hit the headlines for switching off its lights to mark Earth Hour and sponsoring the fourth Saudi Youth Sports Initiative aimed at enriching the lives of youth and contributing to the development of soccer and basketball in Jeddah.

5 iPhone (up one place)

The smartphone brand from Apple introduced water-resistance and an improved camera, which were welcomed by consumers.

6 YouTube (up two places)

Owing to the continued increase in content, as well as the introduction of 4K and 360° video, the world’s largest video-streaming platform continues to grow in popularity in the region.

7 Samsung (down five places)

Samsung is at seventh place after falling from second place in the 2015 rankings. Samsung has gone through a tough period with the company recall of some 2.5 million Note 7 devices following multiple battery issues worldwide, but has still maintained high levels of positive Buzz throughout 2016. The release of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Pink Gold version smartphones exclusively for the Saudi market helped boost Samsung’s BrandIndex scores.

8 Saudi Airlines (new entry)

Saudi Arabia’s flagship airline has fallen from sixth place since its debut in the 2016 mid-year rankings. Saudia has announced fleet retirement and renewal for 2017, new flight routes, and the delivery of its first A330-300 regional aircraft which will boost capacity on several of the  Saudi Arabian airline's most in-demand routes. 2016 also saw the carrier win platinum status for Fast Travel implementation from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

9 Toyota (new entry)

New launches, announcements and awards sawToyota land 9th place. In the last six months, the popular car brand achieved success at the 2016 Middle East Car of the Year (MECOTY) Awards, winning recognition for the Best Midsize Sedan and Best Midsize Truck. Toyota also chose KSA to make its GCC debut launch of the new 2016 Toyota Prius. A partnership with Uber also hit the headlines following the announcement the two brands will create new leasing options in which car purchasers can lease their vehicles from Toyota Financial Services.

10 Emirates (new entry)

Emirates has entered the Buzz Rankings in Saudi Arabia for the first time. The airline has capitalised on the positive and downplayed the negative to increase its reach across the region.

Source: Yougov Brandindex. Top Buzz improvers over 2016 for KSA.

The Buzz Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Buzz comparing scores in years 2015 and 2016. Both scores are representative of the general population.

The top Buzz improvers were Mobily, Zain and Snapchat. Notably, KFC and Malaysia Airlines went from negative scores to positive scores in in 2016.

Other highlights included:

+Automotive brands Toyota, Mercedes Benz and BMW were in the top three. Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Mazda saw the best improvements in Buzz rankings.

+For restaurants and eateries Al Baik, Al Tazaj and Pizza Hut topped the list. KFC, McDonald's and Hardee's did best on Buzz improvements. In KFC's case, the scoring moved from negative to the low positives.

+Retailers IKEA, Panda, and Jarir were the best known brands. EXtra, Carrefour and Souq.com made the most gains for Buzz.

+The consumer electronics space was dominated by Apple, Samsung and Sony. Nikai, which makes audiovisual equipment and phablets, Black & Decker and JVC demonstrated the most Buzz improvement, the first from a negative score to a positive one.

+In the area of finance, Al Rajhi Bank, National Commercial Bank (NCB, Al Ahli), and Alinma Bank won out. GIB, Saudi Investment Bank and Alawwal Bank made the most gains in Buzz.

+The travel category saw airlines Saudia, Emirates and Qatar Airways as its three leaders. Malaysia Airlines, Saudia and Air France/KLM grew in popularity over the last year, from negative to positive in Malaysia Airlines' case.

Interested?

Watch the Almarai mother's milk video (Arabic). At the time of writing the video had been viewed over 12 million times

Read how Almarai rode on YouTube to reach its target audience in KSA in 2016

Watch the Please Park it Right video from ALBAIK (Arabic) 

FMCG brands viewed positively in the Philippines

Source: YouGov. Brandindex 2016 rankings for the Philippines are heavy on toiletry brands. 

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 reflect the dominance of bath and body products in the Philippines. In the top 10 are Colgate dental products, Cream Silk haircare, Dove soaps and haircare, Safeguard soaps and washes, and Olay skincare. Bench sells clothing, but also makes bath and body products.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Best Brand 2016 compares BrandIndex Buzz scores for over 90 brands in the Philippines, to reveal the brands with the most positive noise in 2016. The Philippines is a recent new addition to BrandIndex, and went live during August 2016.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

Malaysians show digital savvy side in 2016

Source: YouGov Brandindex. 2016 rankings for Malaysia are heavy on digital brands. 

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 reflect a love affair with digital brands in Malaysia. WhatsApp, Facebook and Google were in the top three, followed by e-commerce site Lazada, the Apple iPhone, and YouTube in the top seven.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Source: YouGov Brandindex. Top Buzz improvements in Malaysia for 2016. 

The Buzz Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Buzz comparing scores in years 2015 and 2016. Both scores are representative of the general population.

The top Buzz improvers were Huawei, KFC and Lazada. Huawei in particular went from single-digit territory in 2015 to double digits in 2016.

Other highlights included:

+Automotive brands Toyota, Honda and BMW were in the top three.

+Quick service (QSR) restaurants and casual dining brands were all US brands, KFC, Domino's and McDonald's. KFC, McDonald's, and Texas Fried Chicken did best on Buzz improvements.

+In the area of finance, Maybank, CIMB and Public Bank won out. Insurance players Prudential, Great Eastern Life and AIA were in the lead, while AIG, Kurnia and AXA made the most gains in Buzz.

+Fashion retailers were more a mix of general goods providers which also offer fashion as well as pure fashion retailers. Uniqlo, JUSCO and Adidas were the best known brands. Adidas, FashionValet - which offers designer brands online - and Puma made the most gains for Buzz.

Telecom, Internet and pay-TV operators that were the most well-known included Digi, Celcom and U Mobile. P1 WiMax, while still in negative territory, and U Mobile did best on Buzz improvement.

+The e-commerce/m-commerce category saw e-marketplace Lazada, online fashion retailer Zalora and e-marketplace Mudah.my as its three leaders. Lazada, Fashionvalet and e-marketplace Alibaba grew in popularity over the last year.

+The mobile space was dominated by Apple's iPhone, Apple and Samsung. Huawei, Blackberry and Motorola demonstrated the most Buzz improvement, the latter two from more negative scores to less negative scores.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

Domestic brands win out in Japan

Source: YouGov Brandindex. Brandindex rankings for 2016 for Japan. 

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 show that domestic brands dominate for Japan. Rakuten and the Rakuten Card took first and second place respectively, followed by fashion retailer Uniqlo as third.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Source: YouGov. Brand Buzz improvements in 2016.

The Buzz Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Buzz comparing scores in years 2015 and 2016. Both scores are representative of the general population.

The top Buzz improvers were LINE, Nintendo and the Rakuten Card.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

Indonesian brands dominate in Brandindex 2016 rankings

Source: YouGov Brandindex. Brandindex rankings for 2016 for Indonesia.

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 show diversity in Indonesia. It's national carrier Garuda in top place, followed by Samsung and Aqua, the mineral water brand from Danone.

Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016.

Source: YouGov Brandindex. Brand reputation improvements in 2016.

The Buzz Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Buzz comparing scores in years 2015 and 2016. Both scores are representative of the general population.

The top Buzz improvers were Air Asia, CNN Indonesia and Malaysia Airlines. Air Asia in particular went from negative territory in 2015 to being seen in a significantly positive light. Malaysia Airlines, also viewed negatively in 2015, made some inroads in improvement.

Other highlights included:

+Social media brands Facebook, YouTube, an Alphabet brand and Instagram, a Facebook brand, scored in the 40s, with Alphabet's Google+ next in line with a score in the mid-twenties. Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest were in the lead for most-improved brands.

+For healthcare and pharma, it was all about Tolak Angin, a herbal medicine used for flu, headache, nausea and flatulence; Panadol and cold medicine Promag.

+In the area of finance, BCA, Bank Mandiri and BNI won out. Insurance players FWD and Aegon made the most gains in Buzz.

+Aqua, Pocari Sweat and Teh Botol Sosro made the top three for beverages. Top improvers were Coca-Cola, Sprite and Kratingdaeng, an energy drink. The confectionery and snacks category was dominated by Asian brands. Euromonitor reported in December 2016 that Ceres PT, which belongs to Singapore's Petra Foods, is the market leader for chocolate with a value share of 52% in 2016. Silver Queen from Ceres is No. 1, then Beng Beng from Mayora of Indonesia and OT Group's Tango. The best buzz improvements came from Better, a biscuit brand from PT Citra Sukses Internasional, Beng Beng - which started from an already high score - and Oops, also from the OT Group.

+For dairy brands - including yoghurt and ice cream - Walls, an ice cream maker, Yakult, yoghurt based drinks, and Milo, a chocolate malt beverage from Nestlé, were in the top three. According to Euromonitor, Yakult has a 69% market share in yoghurt and sour milk products in Indonesia for 2016. Cimory, a provider of milk, soy milk and yoghurt-based drinks, Japfa's Real Good milk drinks and Qeju cheese from Dairylea were the top three winners for Buzz improvement.

+Quick service (QSR) restaurants and casual dining brands were all US brands, KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's. McDonald's, California Fried Chicken - better known as CFC - and Mr Baso, whose menu includes meatball (editor's note: 'meatball' is 'bakso' in Bahasa Indonesia), noodle and rice dishes, did best on Buzz improvements.

+There are also two sets of transportation-related rankings. When it comes to airlines the top three were Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines, and Garuda's budget airline brand Citilink Indonesia. The top brand improvements were from Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines, followed by ANA. The most recognised automotive brands were Toyota, Honda and Mercedes-Benz.

+When it came to hotels and spas Aston Hotels, Ritz Carlton and Grand Hyatt were the top three. Major Buzz improvements were experienced by the Holiday Inn Express, Cozy Spa and the Ibis.

+Top consumer electronics brands were headed by Samsung, Apple and Asus, all of which also happen to make phones. Buzz on Sanken, Fujifilm and Axioo improved the most. Sanken and Axioo were both in negative territory in 2015.

+The mobile space was dominated by Apple's iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S series and Apple as brands. Huawei, Xiaomi, and telecommunications company Tiphone demonstrated the most Buzz improvement. Telecom and mobile operators that were the most well-known included Telkomsel, SimPATI and Indosat. Bakrie Telecom - which made headlines for its debt in 2015, CDMA players Telkom Flexi and StarOne did best on Buzz improvement, though all still remain in negative territory. Telkom Flexi and StarOne have closed down, while Bakrie does not appear to have a working website.

+The personal care category had Pepsodent, Lifebuoy and Dettol in the top three places. Shinzu'i lightening skincare, Tje Fuk, also for skin lightening and Wardah, known for its halal cosmetics, saw the Buzz improvement in 2016.

+Fashion retailers were more about general goods providers which also offer fashion than pure fashion retail. Carrefour, Indomaret and e-marketplace MatahariMall were the best known brands. Robinson, Galeries Lafayette and Ikea made the most gains for Buzz.

+The e-commerce/m-commerce category saw Tokopedia, e-travel site Traveloka and Bukalapak as its three leaders. Tokopedia, Bukalapak and Blibli seem to have grown in popularity over the last year. Blibli ranked 5th in the leaderboard.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.

YouGov BrandIndex 2016 rankings in India reflect a digital-savvy population

Source: YouGov Brandindex. Brandindex rankings for 2016 for India reflect a love affair with digital brands.

The YouGov Brandindex rankings for 2016 are in for India and show a predilection for digital brands. It's WhatsApp in top place, followed by Google, Facebook, and then YouTube. Skype, Wikipedia and Twitter are also in the top 10 list.

India is a recent new addition to BrandIndex, and went live during July 2015. Best Brand 2016 compares BrandIndex Buzz scores for over 60 brands in India. Brands were rated using BrandIndex’s Buzz score* which asks respondents, “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”

The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores* between January and December 2016. India is a recent addition to BrandIndex, and went live during July 2015.

*All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place; additional precision was used internally to assign ranks.