Video still from Chanel; the brand was the top luxury fashion label in NetBase's report
Consumers are consistently sharing their emotions about brands on social media, which can range from like to love, or even hate.
A new report from NetBase listened to what consumers are saying about brands to determine who is the most loved. Beyond a popularity contest, knowing how strongly consumers feel about elements of a brand can help in making business decisions to retain and amplify their affection, keeping their loyalty.
"In addition to the volume of mentions, NetBase proprietary software captures the intensity of emotions consumers express about a brand, so the results take into consideration the levels of passion and sentiment the brand chatter reflects," said Pernille Bruun-Jensen, chief marketing office at NetBase, Mountain View, CA. "Luxury brands tend to rank high in degree of passion consumers demonstrate for brands — a critical metric for luxury brands that thrive on emotional attachment in support of premium price.
"Consumers of luxury brands and products are often more loyal and express higher degrees of passion toward those brands," she said. "This is particularly important given the higher price point of luxury items."
The inaugural NetBase "Brand Passion Report: Top 100 Brand LoveList 2015" analyzed English language public posts on social media across the Internet from Feb. 14, 2014 until Feb. 15, 2015, looking for signs of affection for a brand. Instead of using “love” as a keyword, it looked at emotions behind a post. Most posts came from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India and Brazil, but the study covers global English-speaking consumers.
Luxury love
Apple dominates the top 10 most loved brands, with its iPhone coming in at number one, its entire company ranked third and iPad and Macbook Air placing fifth and sixth, respectively.
According to a recent report by Hurun, Chinese consumers’ preferences when gifting have shifted, and Apple has displaced traditional luxury brands such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton as the top choice of brand for presents.
Macbook
In a survey Chinese millionaires, the largest percent of both men and women surveyed, said Apple was the best brand for gifting. Tech company Samsung also made the top 10 for both genders (see story).
During a panel discussion at The New York Times International Luxury Conference in December, designer Diane von Furstenberg argued that Apple is a luxury brand, since it has developed a luxury community and has kept design at the forefront since the beginning (see story).
Despite the frenzy surrounding the Apple Watch, the device didn't make the cut for this report, likely since the data points were collected before its release.
The top 10 brands, which also include Disney, Starbucks and Netflix, received 44.8 percent of the 10 million love messages identified by NetBase.
Consumers share their love for brands online
Audi is the first automaker on the list at 15, as well as the first German brand, placing it ahead of more mass car makers. The brand garnered 422,000 mentions of love. Other automakers follow, with BMW at 30 and Mercedes and Ferrari at 42 and 43.
Porsche and Lexus round out the luxury automakers included in the rankings at 73 and 88.
Chanel is the first luxury fashion label to appear on the list, placing at 37. The brand has a very large social media following, which it continues to grow with new accounts.
While promoting its latest effort for it N°5 fragrance, "The One That I Want," Chanel launched its Instagram account.
Chanel’s account was created prior to its first image on Oct. 13 and managed to grow a fan base with the Chanel name alone. Within a few days, the account had more than 1.8 million followers and more than 34,000 likes on some images (see story).
Chanel's first Instagram posts
Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton also make appearances in the top 100, coming in at 60, 70 and 71.
Nordstrom is the only luxury retailer to make the list, ranked 100. In the department store category, it follows only Sears, which placed 94.
Consumers’ affection for a brand can make price less of a consideration as they are making purchases.
Rising to the top
A number of the brands to make NetBase's list have also been pointed out for their successes in other rankings.
Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Burberry were ranked among the top 100 global brands, according to Interbrand’s 15th annual Best Global Brands 2014 report.
The recent advancements in mobile technologies and consumers’ desire to be ever connected with preferred brands has resulted in the “Age of You,” which the world’s top brands have been able to capitalize on through digital platforms and personalization. Brands that have successfully integrated products and devices have fared better than their counterparts who have failed to react to changing consumption trends.
Seven of the most valuable brands from the luxury sector include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès, Cartier, Prada, Tiffany & Co. and Burberry. Audi was also recognized as a "top riser" (see story).
"Moving forward through 2015, luxury brands will want to understand how their brands are perceived by consumers as these perceptions can change rapidly, and marketers, advertisers and retailers will need a tool to quickly monitor, analyze and engage with consumers in real-time and at scale," Ms. Bruun-Jensen said.
"To build, grow and safeguard a brand requires an understanding and mastery of the emotional connection it creates with the consumer," she said. "Social media with NetBase and the Brand Passion Index gives that deep dive into emotions, behaviors and attitudes that can inform decision for change.
"To generate the Index, NetBase reads online conversations and extracts the meaning from them, capturing the intensity of emotions that consumers express about a brand. The combination of passion level and amount of chatter determines the involvement level.
"Such a tool can also provide insight into new market opportunities. Furthermore, it is just as critical to identify and connect with VIP influencers as they can make or break a brand’s standing. And emulating what’s worked socially for others can do wonders for a brand."
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York