MBLM’s latest Brand Intimacy report ranks Amazon as the #1 brand when it comes to brand intimacy
New rankings released by MBLM based on brand intimacy during the pandemic placed Amazon at the top of the pile, again for 2020, followed by Walmart and Whole Foods Market. Brand intimacy is the emotional connection brands share with their customers.
Brands that have demonstrated a strong emotional connection with customers outperformed established financial indices and the stock market during the pandemic. MBLM has compared its top-ranking intimate brands with the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Fortune 500 top brands across revenue growth, profit growth, and stock price during Q2 2019 vs. Q2 2020.
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The study found that consumers demonstrated a 23% increase in the number of brands they share an emotional connection with, a steep increase since the last study. The COVID rankings show the top-ranked companies continuing to lead, with only three new entrants in the top 10 (Google, YouTube, and Toyota). However, there is a shift in focus, with more media and entertainment brands in the top 10 and fewer automotive brands.
How Brands Are Perceived by Various Consumer Groups
The study found that Amazon is the only brand shared among men and women when reviewing their top three brands. Last year, women ranked Disney as their top favorite, while men preferred Ford. During the pandemic, men connected more deeply to brands than women; their Quotient scores were on average 20% higher.
Preference for Apple and Amazon are shared across all ages. Millennials and people between the age groups of 35–44 featured two retail brands on their lists. Those aged between 45–64 demonstrated the highest variation in their top 5, featuring two tech brands, one retail, one automotive, and one media & entertainment. During COVID-19, consumers aged between 35–44 have had the greatest increase in connecting emotionally to brands. Their average Quotient score rose 28%.
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MBLM found that over the past several years, brands that were a part of the smartphone ecosystem outperformed brands that were not. The average Brand Intimacy Quotient for those in the ecosystem is higher than the overall study average. This indicates a brand enjoying a strong presence on mobile devices that can easily foster emotional connections with users. The ecosystem witnessed an increase in strength during the COVID pandemic.
The smart ecosystem’s four groups include apps, access, content/information services, and devices. Traditionally, devices and content/info have higher Brand Intimacy scores than access and apps, which can be seen as utilities or a more ubiquitous part of the larger smartphone experience. Interestingly, MBLM noted a significant increase in the performance of access brands in the COVID study. The company believes this may be linked to the importance of being connected and communicating during the pandemic.
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“As the pandemic has intensified, digital retailers have experienced explosive growth as consumers relied on online delivery and curb-side pick-up,” said Mario Natarelli, managing partner, MBLM. “During the early stages of the pandemic, as people were stockpiling essentials like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and bottled water, many brick and mortar retail brands served as community lifelines.”
