Top UK brands ranked by value

BRAND VALUE

In the latest BrandZ listing of Top 75 UK brands, a brand's value depends on consumer perceptions of innovation, differentiation and communication. Strong brands not only innovate, they communicate their differentiation to remain top of mind amongst the target market of consumers.

According to Kantar Millward Brown, which conducts the BrandZ studies, the top five UK brands in terms of value are all well established with consumers and have a high public profile:

5. Sky (telecom)

4. BT (telecom)

3. Shell (energy)

2. HSBC (financial services)

1. Vodafone (telecom)

Kantar also notes the value growth of many relatively new brands such as Deliveroo (delivery of takeaway orders) and BrewDog (craft beer).

What do brands need to increase or maintain their value amongst consumers?

'To grow, they need to work on increasing consumer perceptions that they are different, innovative and relevant', says a Kantar UK exec. 'The disruptors entering the ranking, meanwhile, need to make their difference meaningful and salient to consumers – if they fail to do so they could have a short lifespan'.

Marketing 'made in Britain'

SWOT: Focus on British heritage as a strength

 In today's global economy, brands are looking for a competitive edge that will attract the attention of customers near and far. From a SWOT perspective, that strength is often 'made in Britain', which provides an edge for British-based marketers.

Grenson is a good example. The company communicates its British heritage when marketing its high quality shoes to local and international customers. Founded by William Green, the company modernised its name to Grenson in 1913, among the first brands legally registered in the UK.

With a long and proud tradition of producing quality shoes, Grenson only became active in wholesaling to major retailers like Harrods and Selfridges in 2011. Grenson launched its first branded overseas retail store in 2016, choosing a trendy neighborhood in lower New York City to influence consumer perceptions of its fashion credentials. Today, Grenson shoes are also stocked by online retailers like Mr Porter (the men's side of online merchant Net-a-Porter), amongst others.

Grenson updates its marketing plan as trends change, consumers change, the marketing environment changes and technology changes. One thing doesn't change: Grenson's brand is always mentioned in the context of its British heritage, keeping 'made in Britain' in the spotlight with every communication channel.

This is true of all Grenson's social media marketing activities: It's on Instagram (87k followers), Facebook (26k followers), Twitter (13.5k followers), Pinterest (2k followers) and Tumblr.

This example extends coverage of SWOT in Chapter 2 of my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning textbook.

Unilever's unstereotype initiative

One of the most notable of 2016's marketing initiatives, according to Campaign Live, has been Unilever's #Unstereotype campaign, headed by the company's SVP of global marketing, Aline Santos.

Unilever's research revealed the need to make changes in how its brand advertising depicts people. Among the brands affected by this new change is Axe (also known as Lynx). Santos explains: 'The stereotype of men that we been portraying for years isn't relevant any more. Not only was it not relevant, it wasn't right.'

In June, 2016, Unilever posted the following about its #Unstereotype initiative:

Gender identity is changing. Our advertising has not changed enough – up until now. We've listened to consumers and looked at the way we portray gender in our advertising and realised we need to do things differently. We understand that by using our influence responsibly, we can contribute to positive cultural change as well as making better connections with people through our advertising. That's why we've asked every one of our brands to challenge itself to move away from unhelpful stereotypical portrayals of gender, especially for women, and to deliver fresh campaigns that are more relevant to today’s consumer. We call this movement #UNSTEREOTYPE – and it is already making a difference.

The #Unstereotype campaign resonates in an industry where stereotyping is often in evidence (especially in advertising messages to or including women). In fact, Kantar Futures head J Walker Smith says this is the way of the future:

The advertising and marketing industry has got a lot of ground to make up to simply project a realistic, contemporary picture of female identity, so keeping up with and pre-empting its evolution will be no easy task. The good news is that Unilever has now shown that it pays dividends, and that those brands brave enough to move their strategy forward have a great opportunity for growth, disruption and creativity.

Researching most trusted brands

Every year, Reader's Digest works with marketing researchers to survey consumers in various parts of the world about the brands they most trust.

In its introduction to the 2016 report about trusted brands in Asia, Reader's Digest wrote:

A trusted brand enjoys international appeal, yet at the same time upholds a strong local connection. It has individual relevance for all its consumers, just about anywhere and in any culture.

Conducting research about trusted brands in Canada, Reader's Digest reported the top brands within product categories, with some winners being Canadian brands and some global brands, such as:

• Most trusted cereal: Kellogg's (global brand)
• Most trusted smartphone: Apple (global brand)
• Most trusted pharmacy: Shoppers Drug Mart (Canadian brand)

In New Zealand, Reader's Digest reported the top brands within product categories, again a mix of global and national brands, such as:

• Most trusted bank: Kiwi Bank (New Zealand brand)
• Most trusted car rental firm: Hertz (global brand)
• Most trusted car brand: Toyota (global brand)