Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen’s annual Top 1000 Asia Brands survey is out and South Korea’s Samsung once again sits atop the list.
The company’s sales may be under pressure, but in the eyes of consumers its brand reputation remains strong, as it once again outpaced number two Sony followed by Nestle, Apple and Panasonic.
This is the fourth straight year that Samsung ranked at the top.
The electronics giant was first in all countries surveyed with the exception of Japan where it fell outside the top 100 and in Taiwan where it came in fourth, and Vietnam where it ranked second.
One surprise in this year’s survey was the overall drop in luxury brand rankings.
“In Asia this may be one of the biggest signifiers of emerging markets becoming more mature — it could also signal the end of a luxury boom that seemed to have no end in sight,” said Campaign Asia in a press release.
There was only luxury brand on the list that held the same position this year: Chanel.
Apple actually went against expectations. Even though sales have soared to record highs with the release of the iPhone 6, the company’s brand ranking dropped from 3rd to 4th for 2015.
Top 10 Asia Brands
Samsung
The Pride of Korea sits atop the list once again –this despite a 39-percent drop in first quarter profits. In April the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, went on sale with 20 million pre-orders raising the company’s market value by US$16 billion according to Bloomberg.
Sony
Four years ago Samsung took the top spot from Sony and has stayed there ever since. That’s not to say the brand is not gunning for their neighbor. Sony still remains the number one brand in Taiwan and Vietnam.
Nestlé
The sweet stuff unseating Apple –the food metaphor is very tempting. Nestle is doing especially well in emerging markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia, China and India.
Apple
Considering the strong (and highly lucrative) presence of Apple in the region, it is surprising that a company with one of the world’s most finely honed brands slipped a notch this year. Apple finished second in Singapore, Australia and Thailand –so there’s that.
Panasonic
It ranks #1 in the home market ahead of Sony and far ahead of Samsung which doesn’t rank within the top 100 brands in Japan.
Nike
It’s Nike. What more can we say? Interestingly, it was outranked by #10 Adidas in the sport sub-category in both Indonesia and Taiwan.
LG
LG ranks 4th in Indonesia and 5th in Australia and India, but has yet to find love in the much sought-after Chinese market according to the survey. Perhaps China will at some point woo the day for LG.
Canon
Canon held its position this year despite dropping at a single digit rate in the rankings for the past three years. Cameras are hurting in general with the quality of cell phone photos going way up.
Chanel
The only “luxury” brand in the survey that managed to hold onto its position. In China and Taiwan it ranks third while holding the top spot in the luxury sub-category in South Korea, Taiwan and China.
Adidas
This is the company’s 4th consecutive year in the 10th position on the Campaign Asia-Nielsen survey. In the sports sub-category it actually tops Nike in Indonesia and Taiwan.
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Regional Brands Make Gains
While the list is dominated by internationally known brands, there was a notable rise for many Asia-based brands. Vietnam Air shot up 87 spots; Philippines-based Jollibee jumped almost 60 places; Japan’s Softbank rose 74 rungs; and China’s Mengniu Dairy leaped 100 places this year.
“This looks like the start of Asia’s brands growing from local heroes into regional giants and eventually onto multinational status,” said Jason Wincuinas, Managing Editor at Campaign Asia-Pacific.
Other notable regional names such as Watsons, Lotte and Air Asia also made it into the top 50 or top 25 this year.
How the Survey Works
Now in its 12th year, Asia’s Top 1000 Brands study uses data gathered through an online survey that questions consumers in 13 regional markets across Asia-Pacific: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The brand survey encompasses 14 major categories including alcohol, financial services, automotive, retail, restaurants, food, beverage, consumer electronics, computer hardware, computer software, courier services, media and telecommunications, travel and leisure, and household and personal care and an additional 73 sub-categories.
The questions asked on the survey:
Question 1: “When you think of the following category, which is the best brand that comes to your mind? By best, we mean the one that you trust the most or the one that has the best reputation in this category.”
Question 2: “Apart from the best brand that you entered, which brand do you consider to be the second best brand in the category?.”
You can see the full survey at Campaign Asia.
