The semantic blog » Coolest & Gaps Results | Apple, the coolest brand experience

Back to Home Written on 28-Jan-2009 by cristian.saracco

With the participation of more than 1,000 people, during the months of October and November, Allegro 234 conducted the "Coolest & Gaps Branding Survey"

This survey is the first in which the question about the coolest brand has been opened without predetermined lists [spontaneous, not induced].

Through various media and online blogs, the survey has achieved a high participation level

1,314 participants
Europe 55%, the Americas 40% and Asia 5% [39 countries]
70% of participants working in areas related to branding, marketing, communications and PR

Coolest

The five coolest brands are:

Apple [with more than double of mentions than the second one]
Coca-Cola
Disney
Ferrari
Virgin

Two groups of brands follow the top five, including:

Adidas, Alfa Romeo, Illy, Moët Chandon, Nike
Agent Provocateur, BMW, Jaguar, Nestle, Norwegian Cruise, Patagonia, Red Bull, Starbucks, Volvo, Vueling

Even as these are the coolest brands, participants also recognize that there are things to improve:

Associate services: The product meets expectations, what it is around shows deficiencies
Warranty: The "small print"
Price: Brand premium price

Two important issues:

Communication is only part of the experience [Companies in the telecommunications sector and financial institutions have rarely been mentioned, less than 1%]
Coolest brand Experiences are those which are lived with the five senses

Gaps

On average, it is recognized that all companies, regardless of the sector they belong to, need to work on their brand experience

Those working in areas related to branding are more pessimistic than the non-related people, except in regard to the synthesis of their value proposition [what the brand says]

People fail to decode the message [marketing speaks a language that only they understand]
The aspirational is difficult to achieve and produces frustration [is sensed a lack of authenticity and realism]

Finally, in regard to the internal branding experience, 60% of participants believed that it is inappropriate and/or partially adequate in their business

Those working in related areas are more critical [they base their internal experience on communication]
Those working in non-related areas live the experience better because they are considering other factors that go beyond communication

You can read/download the full study here

Main contents:

The Coolest brand experiences: Global, by continent, by country (US, UK, Spain, Argentina)
The Gaps: General and splitted by people related and non-related to branding areas
Final conclusions: General and the specific cases of Spain and Argentina
Press Release and contact information

Thanks to all the people who made this effort possible (detailed thanks in the full doc)

To make it simple!

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Tags: trends,branding,survey,insights,allegro 234,coolest & gaps

Comments

written on 07-Feb-2009
russell.volckmann [http://www.webjam.com/brandintegrity] says:
Nice presentation and solid empirical evidence.

RE: "Those working in areas related to branding are more pessimistic than the non-related people..."... yes, and this also helps support Young & Rubicam's "Brand Bubble" observation that the more familiar a brand becomes, the less customers actually like the brand; Customers instead feel less connected, and that the brand becomes increasingly less relevant!

I am still reading the full survey and will add more when I am finished.
written on 07-Feb-2009
russell.volckmann says:
RE: "The aspirational is difficult to achieve and produces frustration [is sensed a lack of authenticity and realism]"

One of the central factors that makes an aspirational brand aspirational, is the tension that is created between wanting and having within the target market... or so it is theorized. A large segment of a brand's exposure audience wants to own the brand, but for economic or other reasons cannot own the brand or its products. This keeps prices generally at a premium, keeps the brand in high esteem (provided other important attributes of the brand, like style & quality, are still relevant) and helps prevent the brand from becoming "commoditized"—therefore maintaining the proper ratio of the "haves and "have not's (but want)" in order to sustain a thriving cycle for the brand.

However, I would imagine that in the case of a crisis (economic, or a disruptive technology for example), that issues such as "authenticity and realism" could tip the ratio logarithmically against the aspirational brand, could it not?
written on 07-Feb-2009
cristian.saracco [http://www.webjam.com/brand30] says:
Hi Russ!

Thank you for your messages!...

"The aspirational is difficult to achieve and produces frustration [is sensed a lack of authenticity and realism]"... To your fantastic analysis I would add that there is also an issue with the communication....
- As you said... there is a difference between creative and destructive tension. The last one creates frustration
- When communication is disconnected with the brand (and in certain cases with the people)... the offer doesn't walk the talk.... and this is also a cause of frustration... no?
written on 07-Feb-2009
russell.volckmann says:
Cristián.... yes sir.... perfectly said... two kinds of tension exist...

(1) the kind of tension inherent in humans... the tension of wanting (to achieve, to become better—whatever that means to the individual). It keeps us motivated. From a western point of view, this "want" keeps humans striving for something greater. And I think this is the factor that works well for products in the aspirational brand model. From a broader philosophical point of view, some may argue even this kind of "wanting" is destructive to the advancement of humans. But in terms of a brand/ product/ customer relationship, I would argue the tension is generally benign.

(2) the other kind of tension as you aptly pointed out is the negative tension (frustration) associated with a bad experience—breaking connections—whether not receiving reciprocal communication, or other disappointing experiences such as a brand not delivering what is promised. Broken promises.
written on 11-Mar-2009
Guillermo De Simone says:
It´s incredible! Alfa Romeo still ranks very well despite mismanagement over almost 50 years! what a brand! It seems everybody has a "cuore sportivo"...
written on 01-Apr-2010
NickSam [http://rapidpedia.com] says:
I couldn't even imagine that Apple will be the first. I like this company a lot. It is always ahead of its competitors with its quality and new products.
written on 01-Apr-2010
cristian.saracco says:
Hi Nick!
.. And it remains in 2009/2010!

http://www.brand30.net/$the_semantic_blog/201 ... urvey

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