Australia’s Most ‘Meaningful’ Brands Revealed

A new global index ranking “meaningful” brands which are perceived to have the greatest positive impact on quality of life has revealed Australia’s top 10.

The Meaningful Brands 2015 study by global communications firm Havas reveals Australia’s top three most meaningful brands are Woolworths, Google and Coles.

2015 Australian Top 10

1. Woolworths

2. Google

3. Coles

4. PayPal

5. Kellogg’s

6. Samsung

7. Microsoft

8. Vegemite

9. Milo

10. Visa

The study considered 1,000 brands in 34 countries and 12 industries.

According to Havas, it is the first global study to show how our quality of life and wellbeing connects with brands.

The research covered various aspects of people’s lives including the impact on collective wellbeing (the role brands play in our communities and the communities we care about), personal wellbeing (self-esteem, healthy lifestyles, connectivity with friends and family, fitness and happiness) and marketplace factors, which relate to product performance such as quality and price.

The top ten global performers for 2015 were Samsung, Google, Nestlé, Bimbo, Sony, Microsoft, Nivea, Visa, IKEA and Intel. Following these leaders are HP, Dove (Unilever), Walmart, Gillette (P&G), Knorr (Unilever), Kellogg’s, Amazon, PayPal, Honda and Carrefour.

The top performing categories worldwide are Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, Food, Personal Care and Retail. Technology brands accounted for nearly one third of the top 50 global Meaningful Brands, with three out of the top five brands from the sector – Samsung, Google and Sony.

This 2015 analysis showed that size was not a barrier to meaningfulness, with smaller brands outperforming larger brands. For example Honda outperforming Toyota and Ford; PayPal outperforming MasterCard and Uniqlo outperforming Zara and H&M.

“Great marketing has a cumulative effect as it’s shared – it naturally flows and gains momentum. We will only share ideas if brands do stuff that matters to us. We now look to brands for meaningful connections – big or small. By understanding this, our Meaningful Brands project becomes central to how brands communicate in this new organic world,” Global Managing Director of Havas Media Group, Dominique Delport said.

The research revealed that Meaningful Brands outperformed the stock market by 133 per cent (up 13 per cent on 2013), with the top 25 scorers delivering an annual return of nearly 12 per cent.

A brand’s “Share of Wallet” – a metric used to measure the percentage spent with a brand versus the total annual expenditure within its category, was on average 46 per cent higher for Meaningful Brands and was up to as much as seven times larger.

However, the report suggested most people would not care if 74 per cent of brands disappeared, and that less than 28 per cent of brands overall were seen to improve quality of life and wellbeing.

According to Havas, those figures have remained stable over the last five years, “showing that in many developed countries the disconnect between brands and people has become the new norm.”

Maria Garrido, Global Head of Data & Consumer Insights at Havas Media Group said geographical difference also played a role in people’s perception of brands.

“Brands that enhance the wellbeing of people, communities and societies are more meaningful. In the West, we have a more functional relationship with brands so continuous innovation and product delivery is key. In high growth markets, the relationship between people and brands is one that focuses more on personal benefits. In these regions people look to brands to help them achieve economic status, better experiences and every-day inspiration,” he said.

“By understanding what activity will resonate with certain global and local audiences, forward-thinking brands will not only be able to plan more meaningful campaigns, but will also be able to report on meaning as a powerful metric of success.”