In the UK, Apple has been voted the most relevant brand for the third year in a row according to the annual Brand Relevance Index from marketing consultancy Prophet. Lego has moved up from fourth to second and PlayStation from ninth to third. Fitbit and the NHS were new entrants into the top 10 for the first time, replacing Dyson and Lush.

Outside of the top 10, Nationwide is the first financial services brand to make it into the top 50, whilst Uber was the biggest climber leaping up from 146th in 2017 to 26th in 2018.

The top ten most relevant brands

1. Apple
2. Lego
3. PlayStation
4. Google
5. Netflix
6. Fitbit
7. Spotify
8. Amazon
9. NHS
10. Android

Key Findings

• Home-grown brands are falling behind. Year on year there’s been a decrease in the number of British brands making it into the top 50.
• The power of purpose. Lush (16) and Ikea (28 are examples of brands with conviction that are becoming more powerful and influential.
• Relevance is key. With Netflix (5) and Spotify (7) leading the charge, popular brands deliver more personalised and more relevant experiences to consumers.
• It is good to build a community. Lego (2), Fitbit (6), Whatsapp (22) are brands that do not just treat customers as buyers, but develop an ever-growing user base that can be tapped into in innovative, creative and community-led ways.

Discussing the disappointing results of UK brands, Rune Gustafson, president EMEA at Prophet, says: “Looking at the UK specifically, it’s interesting to note that there are few local companies that make it into the top 50 and they’re also becoming less relevant year by year. Brands that we’ve learnt to love such as BBC, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose have all dropped down the rankings.”

Looking at why this is, Gustafson says: “Each brand will have its own characteristics but, broadly speaking, the pace of focusing on customer obsession and continuously innovating is perceived to be slower than the more relevant brands in the marketplace.”

However, Gustafson ends on a positive note by focusing on the British brands that are succeeding in capturing hearts and minds, Dyson and the NHS: “Dyson scores particularly strongly for innovation, whilst the NHS outclasses every other brand for customer obsession and both are underpinned by a true purpose that people believe in.”

UK methodology

Prophet partnered with SSI, to survey 11,500 UK consumers about 240 brands across 27 industries. Companies from all industries that contribute materially to UK household spend were included, except brands in the tobacco and firearms categories or those engaged in primarily business-to-business categories. In some cases, smaller companies that are driving change in their respective industries were also included given their significant traction with consumers. The data was sourced from the Office for National Statistics’ 2017 Family Spending Report (UK).

Each participating consumer rated up to five brands within a single category on 16 different attributes that correspond to the four principles of relevance Prophet identified. To rate a brand, a consumer had to be familiar with the brand and a frequent consumer in the brand’s category.