Australia’s Favourite Brands

Australians are a brand-minded people and in accordance with many of the developed nations of the world, brands like Google, Nokia, Sony and IKEA score high. In addition to this, some local treats such as Vegemite and Tim Tams have a strong following to say the least.

George Patterson Y&R Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) recently made an investigation into how Australian think about the brands surrounding them. The study looked into 1,200 brands covering 139 different categories. More than 4,000 Australian consumers were studied online as part of an agency database of end user awareness of brands.

David Evans, director of George Patterson’s brand asset consulting, concluded: “What we’re seeing here are high-engagement players taking precedence over the more traditional and prestige brands. There is a new dynamic here which will have a significant impact on how marketers invest in their in their brands in the future”.

Top 10 Brands in Australia
1.    Google
2.    Nokia
3.    Vegemite
4.    Microsoft
5.    Sony
6.    Bunnings Warehouse
7.    Ikea
8.    Coca-Cola
9.    Tim Tam
10.    Wii

Bottom 10 Brands
1.    Investra Property
2.    House of Windsor Foods
3.    Australand(property developers)
4.    Grazia (magazine)
5.    Fidelity (investments)
6.    Hudson (property)
7.    GE Capital
8.    Theos Bottle Shops
9.    Aurora Coffee
10.    GQ

Source GP Y&R

This raises some interesting questions about consumer choice criteria. We know that Choice Criteria, being the various attributes a consumer thinks about when evaluating products and services, is the fundamental fact in understanding how and why people give more credibility and value to certain brands. What we seem not to know however, is how the different criteria correspond to each other. In marketing, four criteria of consumer behaviour is most often looked at and analysed: Technical criteria are related to the performance of the product or service – this includes reliability, comfort and performance. Economic criteria deal with cost aspects: purchase, running costs and residue value. Furthermore, recent studies in Europe by EUROSTAT show that increasingly, buyers take life-cycle costs into consideration when buying products. Social criteria is the impact that the purchase makes on the consumer’s perceived relationships with other people and the influence of social norms – choosing a brand may be determined by the need of social belonging. Lastly, personal criteria concern how the product or service relates to the consumer on a psychological level: Emotions are important elements of decision-making.

While it is notable that strong brands such as Google and Wii are dealing with these criteria in skilful ways, it is more interesting to ponder what the bottom list-companies fail. This year’s BAV takes in to account a new algorithm that tracks consumer trust in brands. And regardless of multiple up to date stories to the contrary, consumers’ trust in brands has actually improved. There are also more losers in Australia’s multi-billion dollar brand-society: Four of the top losers are clothing brands, Mambo, Stussy, Sportsgirl and Quicksilver. A number of premium brands have been badly hit by the financial crisis with watches, jewellery and hotels performing poorly.

“Marketers can use BAV to determine their investment priorities, brand by brand and category by category. The study is also identifying new consumer trends, such as boomers being the first generation ever to follow the brand adoption patterns of a younger generation,” Mr. Evans concluded the study. The study presents an important opportunity to marketers to understand how Choice Criteria is being used by consumers to evaluate products and services and clearly shows the implications of priorities in product design and what appeals to use in advertising.

Sources

D, Jobber & J. Fahy: Understanding Customer Behaviour, McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead, 2008.
adage.com
EUROSTAT

Image by Downing Street

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