Samsung has claimed the number one spot in advertising industry publication Campaign Asia-Pacific’s latest Asia Top 1000 Brands report.
Described as the biggest and most influential survey of brands which consumers most value in the region, the report ranks the top five: Samsung, Apple, Sony, Nestle and Panasonic.
Apple and Nestlé were this year’s new entries into the top five, moving up four and five places respectively in their rankings.
“Samsung’s sweep of the top spot can be attributed to the brand’s dedication to product innovation within a wide range of consumer electronics,“ said Jolene Otremba, reports editor at Campaign Asia-Pacific.
“The brand’s focus on high visibility marketing and advertising, as well as its commitment to developing brand presence in both new and mature markets has helped to give the brand a boost.”
In its ninth year, the 2012 report is based on a survey conducted by Campaign Asia-Pacific and the global information and insights provider, ACNielsen, targeting consumers in 12 key regional markets across Asia-Pacific: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Across the countries, Samsung claimed top spot in South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, while it sat within the top five in five other countries. Mostly, the top three spots across all the countries were dominated by consumer electronic brands, with the exceptions of China which included Nestlé in second place and Chanel in third; India placed Nestlé third; Taiwan had Chanel in third place; Indonesia had Nestlé second; and Nestlé took the top spot in Vietnam.
The survey covered 14 major products and services categories across a total of 73 sub-categories. The ranking of the brands were ascertained based on responses to questions that asked the respondent to name the best brand that comes to their mind in a category. The results are then weighted to reflect the age, gender and monthly household income representative of the general population.
Aside from identifying the top brands, the study also features experts’ analysis, which helped identify key trends that are affecting brands in the region, and in individual markets.
“Findings from this year show that luxury retail brands are moving up the rankings faster than ever, indicating the region’s increasing affluence and rise in disposable income,” Otremba said.
Notable climbers in the luxury category include Louis Vuitton (moving up 84 spots), Calvin Klein (up 91), Armani (up 94), Burberry (up 263) and Prada (up 271).
“Another trend is that the region’s growing wealth, and the aggressive push of these brands into Asia has also led to global brands being more top of mind amongst Asian consumers,” Otremba added.
Survey results a year ago showed local brands accumulating a healthy share of the rankings. However, this year, many global brands are giving the local brands a run for their money.
In fact, the study revealed that even Chinese and Indian brands seem to be facing challenges in gaining consumer recognition within their home markets. While last year’s survey results placed eight Chinese brands within the top 20 brands ranked within China, this year’s results had only three local brands. In India too, only three local brands made it into the top 20.
However, there are certain markets where consumer support for homegrown brands continues to be evident, such as in Korea and Japan, where brands such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Lotte and Meiji continue to enjoy their dominance.
“But these brands are also global brands in their own right,” pointed out Otremba.
Looking at the individual categories revealed the sustained power of recall for familiar global brands, with section winners including Johnnie Walker (spirits); Heineken (beer); Visa (credit card); BMW (car); Tiffany and Co (jewellery); Rolex (watch); Louis Vuitton (luxury fashion retail); Nike (sportswear); Starbucks (coffee shop); and Hilton (hotel).
