Increasingly known for leading the market through user inspired innovation and manufacturing phones for every demographic, the ‘buzz’ surrounding the South Korean electronics giant was enough to snatch the rankings crown from Google, which dropped to second place over the last 12 months.
However, with Internet penetration set to soar to 413 million users across the Middle East by 2015, Google is still generating high levels of awareness for itself in the UAE.
Dubai-based Emirates airline remains a non-mover in third place with 52.2 points. Its recent acclamation as the most valuable airline brand worldwide in the 2014 Global 500 report, together with a range of sponsorships, including the Fifa World Cup 2014, no doubt helped to maintain awareness amongst the airline’s target audience of 'globalistas – a new generation of global consumers looking for new experiences across cultures'.
Carrefour had the most significant climb up the Top 10 over the first six months of the year, jumping up five places from ninth to fourth. Consumer electronics leader Apple has also been making waves lately in the UAE, and CEO Tim Cook’s visit to the Emirates in February got tongues wagging – Apple and iPhone appear in the Top 10 at positions five and eight, respectively, and remain brands to watch for the foreseeable future.
Despite dropping five places since 2013 from fourth to ninth in the Top 10, the Gulf’s largest dairy company, and ‘quality you can trust’ brand Almarai continued to resonate well with UAE residents keeping it in the Top 10 Buzz rankings for the first half of 2014 with 38.9 points.
There were three Top 10 debuts to the mid-year rankings for 2014, including home grown property developer Emaar, the world’s most-visited destination Dubai Mall, and the UAE's most popular social media network Facebook, all of whom grabbed their fair share of audience attention in the UAE between January and June 2014. Household names Nestlé, Galaxy, Dove and Dettol have all been squeezed out of the Top 10 since 2013.
As a completely new entrant into the Top 10 Buzz Improvers, international eCommerce leader Amazon has claimed the top spot for the first half of 2014. In second place is the world’s largest professional network LinkedIn, followed by fast food chain KFC, another completely new entry. These Buzz score increases show that recent advertising and marketing investments made by these brands in the UAE seem to be achieving cut through with residents.
Beverage mega brands Coca-Cola and Diet Pepsi battled it out to create Buzz and gain market share at positions six and seven in the Top 10 Improvers. Omo, Quiznos, Rimmel, Facebook and Little Explorers were all new entrants to the Top 10 Improvers list increasing their Buzz scores following a busy six months in the UAE market in 2014.
Commenting on the rankings, Commercial Director Ali Draycott said: “New Top 10 entrants such as Emaar, Dubai Mall, Amazon and LinkedIn have all succeeded in capturing consumers' attention in the UAE over the last six months. The next six months will show whether they will be successful in converting this positive awareness into greater market share.”
The index tracks over 500 brands in the UAE across multiple sectors, and claims to be the first daily measure of brand perception among the public.
Rankings are created using YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which is calculated by asking respondents if they have heard anything positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news, word-of-mouth or friends and family.
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