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Archived in With the announcement of this year’s top ten Superbrands, there’s likely to be a few CEOs banging their desk demanding why they’re not in the list, and others taking their marketing team out to lunch. The results also offer us marketing bods some juicy tidbits on what people in the street are thinking.
With a recessionary thunderstorm still raging, the big climbers this year have been comfort and convenience foods. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are basking in the spotlight of being the highest new entry, whilst fast food retailers have leaped around 150 places up the table.
But the brand grabbing all the headlines is Microsoft, after marching to snatch back its crown as the top Superbrand, and smiting its rival, Google, into third place. Could Google’s fall from grace be a backlash against its controversial Street View? Or is Microsoft now the plucky underdog against Google’s plans for digital domination?
You can’t become a Superbrand overnight
Along with Apple, tech companies Microsoft and Google perform well because they’re seen as innovative, forward thinking and vibrant.
However, this technological sparkle has yet to start appearing on the younger online brands, such as Facebook, YouTube or Yahoo. They continue to languish outside the top 100 despite all the headlines they attract or their millions of users.
Perhaps this is a much needed reminder that not everybody spends all day on the web, and that there are plenty of everyday brands that continue to be more relevant in people’s lives (more on this next week).
What makes a Superbrand?
Many brands come and go in the list, but there are a few that are safe bets to make the top ten, whatever Daily Mail headlines they appear in.
British Airways, the BBC and Mercedes Benz are in the top ten virtually every year because they’ve spent decades developing positive associations with their brand. In the eyes of their customers, they offer tangible benefits in terms of quality, reliability and a sense of pride of ownership.
Having such a well entrenched brand perception is built by having an obsession to deliver excellence in everything they do. This includes customer service, the promise made in their marketing and, most importantly, the quality of their products. It’s this dedication that means they stand for something in the eyes of their customers, whatever else is happening in the marketplace.
So if you want to become a superbrand, whether you’re a solo enterprise or a global conglomerate, you should take some notes from those at the top and strive for excellence in everything you do.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
August 19th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
[...] 19th, 2009 Archived in Blog, Digital Media, Email Marketing Microsoft might have been named the UK’s most popular brand earlier this year, but it’s not going to be on many email marketers’ Christmas card list. Its [...]