Online brands dip in popularity
- Added:
- May 29, 2008
The brand reputation of several big online companies has fallen, according to a new customer survey.
The survey of 200,000 people released by Marketing Week, in association with YouGov’s BrandIndex, reveals that utilities companies have shaken off the negative image often associated with the industry in environmentally conscious times.
Scottish Power, Powergen and EDF were the top 3 highest climbers out of all UK brands assessed in Marketing Week’s Brand Performers 2008 survey.
Six of the top ten fallers however were online brands. Well-known Dotcom companies Friends Reunited, CDWow, Virgin.net and Egg.co.uk feature prominently in the list of brand losers.
Top 10 risers
1. Scottish Power –Utilities
2. Powergen – Utilities
3. EDF Energy – Utilities
4. Thomson – Electrical
5. Southern Electric – Utilities
6. Currys – Retail
7. SWALEC – Utilities
8. Matalan – Retail
9. Co-op – Retail
10. Shell – Oil
Top 10 fallers
1. Friends Reunited – Online
2. Royal Mail – Services
3. CDWow.com - Online
4. Telewest – Telecoms
5. ING Direct – Financial services
6. Virgin.net – Online
7. Egg.co.uk – Online
8. Caffrey’s – Spirits
9. Wanadoo.co.uk – Online
10. Smile.co.uk – Online
The survey measures consumers’ respect for major brands and these results seem to demonstrate a shift in consumer sentiment away from the newer Internet brands towards more established, ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses.
It’s not all bad news for technology businesses. At the top of the table Amazon and Google hold first and second places respectively with Freeview and Nokia in 4th and 7th.
Even at these upper echelons, however, traditional brands have fared well with the BBC in 3rd, Marks and Spencers in 5th, Cadburys in 6th and Heinz, Boots and Kellogs in 8th, 9th and 10th.
Stuart Smith, Editor of Marketing Week, said: “The rise of the utilities in the survey is something of a surprise – for a long time they’ve been the sort of brand everyone knows but no-one loves. It seems that they have done a lot to shake off their miss-selling, super-polluting image and to create a warmer feel for the consumer.
“The comparison between their increasing popularity with consumers compared to the declines shown by some Internet brands tells us that simply being new and different doesn’t guarantee you any sort of lasting respect in consumers’ minds.”
The survey, run throughout 2007, asked up to 200,000 consumers about the brands they respected. The fastest rising and fastest falling brands were measured by comparison with their position in the same research last year.