Tech brands going strong among residents; Emirates leads

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Tech brands going strong among residents; Emirates leads
Emirates airline maintains its top ranking.

Published: Thu 18 Jan 2018, 7:00 PM

Last updated: Thu 18 Jan 2018, 9:45 PM

Technology brands continue to dominate the list of the strong brands in the UAE while Emirates airline maintains its top ranking, according to the latest 2017 Best Brand Rankings released on Wednesday by YouGov BrandIndex.
Among the top 10, eight are technology brands as compared to six in 2016 ranking.
WhatsApp comes in second place while iPhone jumps five places to number three, making it the biggest Buzz score improver during 2017.
Mike English, director, Superbrands Middle East, said digital and social media are becoming increasingly prominent as marketing vehicles to generate positive appeal among consumers with a brand like Emirates fully integrating these elements into major campaigns and over the years its strategy has not only involved marketing and sponsorships, but product innovation and service delivery.
"A brand is a complex organism, and to be successful it should be different, be focused and be relevant. I believe the Emirates brand has all the three elements," English said.
YouGov used Buzz scores to compile the rankings, asking consumers daily if they have "heard anything positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word-of-mouth". It surveyed consumer opinion of over 500 brands in the UAE.
Meanwhile, Apple is the fourth brand with the highest positive consumer brand sentiment and its rival Samsung sits in sixth place.
Behind WhatsApp, other online media giants continued to resonate very positively among consumers last year with Facebook, Google and YouTube maintaining top ten spots in fifth, eighth and ninth respectively. Hypermarket chain Carrefour grabs seventh position. While Samsung Galaxy won 10th position.
However, flydubai, Dettol and Almarai all demonstrate an increase in positive chatter among consumers featuring in the top 10 improvers list in seventh, eighth and tenth respectively.
"As a leading market in the adoption of digital technologies, it is no surprise to see consumers in the UAE demonstrate considerable resonance with leading tech brands," said Scott Booth, head of Data Products in Mena.
The fact that a number of consumer electronic brands are in the top rankings speak volumes of the lifestyles of contemporary consumers, and how best to proposition a brand's value to an increasingly tech-savvy audience, Superbrands' Mike English said.
"I believe this is reflective of the transition from a production-driven past to a consumer-driven future. With the UAE considered among the most tech-savvy in the world especially when it comes to digitisation and mobility, it does not surprise me that majority of the Top 10 brands are in the technology sphere," he added.
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

By Waheed Abbas

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