New research from global consultancy Prophet reveals the rankings of the most relevant brands in consumers’ lives today. The firm’s fourth Prophet Brand Relevance Index is based on the firm’s own four principles of brand relevance.
Apple maintained its standing as the most relevant brand for the fourth year in a row, while KitchenAid and Nike moved into the top ten, replacing Disney and Pixar. Pinterest remains the highest ranking social media brand for the third year in a row, but there were many other changes to this year’s top 50 with the addition of several new brands. These include: Uber, Fitbit, Dyson, Turbo Tax, Folgers, Chevrolet, Ford, Clorox and Ben & Jerry’s.
Key trends include:
Sharing economy brands are on the rise
Uber joined the top 50 at #49, and Airbnb rose 56 spots to #99. In addition, both Uber (#49) and Lyft (#55) have pushed through controversies by innovating to become more essential than ever in customers lives.
Legacy brands and household staples are innovating
Kitchen-Aid (#8) and Dyson (#48) are staying relevant by innovating new products and offerings, while still maintaining dependability and quality.
“American made” is once again relevant in the U.S. auto market
For the first time, Ford at #45 and Chevrolet at #47 cracked the top 50, joining Toyota at #29, Honda at #31. Chevy in particular has built relevance with Millennials through a commitment to bringing new technology and connectivity to their cars while fixing reliability issues. On the broader list are Tesla at #152 and Jeep at #156.
