The survey which includes responses from consumers in a total of 10 markets in the region, presents an overview of the local and global brands consumers think most highly of across sectors and geographies. In total, 3,000 people were interviewed, drawn from TNS’ 6thdimension online access panels across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
To determine the best brands in each of the product and service categories covered by the survey, participants were asked two questions:
When you think of [product / service / 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 [product / service / category].
Apart from the brand that you have just mentioned, which brand do you consider to be the second-best brand in the [product / service / category]?
The categories presented to each participant included: alcohol and cigarettes; automotive; beverage; electronic goods; financial service; food; media and telecommunications;
Technology brands dominate the list, taking 9 out of the top 10 spots in this year’s survey, due largely to the fact that they tend to operate in multiple categories. This does however, reflect the reality that these brands do have a greater presence in consumer’s lives and awareness.
Retaining its number one position as Asia’s top brand is Japanese electronics brand Sony. Coming in second place is Korean brand Samsung, followed in third place by popular business and personal imaging solutions, Canon. Other than technology, the brands with strong presence in the top 20 are mostly from the retail category.
Asia’s top 20 best brands
RANK BRAND
1 Sony
2 Samsung
3 Canon
4 LG
5 Panasonic
6 Hewlett-
7 Nokia
8 Apple
9 Google
10 Coca-Cola
11 Yahoo
12 Honda
13 Nestlé
14 Nike
15 Sharp
16 Toshiba
17 7-Eleven
18 adidas
19 Colgate
20 Starbucks
Best in Class: Asia’s top brands by category
CATEGORY TOP BRAND
Electronic goods: Sony
Desktop Computer (PC), Laptop: Hewlett-Packard
Gaming Console: Playstation / PSP
Social Networking Sites: Facebook
Fast Food / Restaurant Chain: McDonald’s
Soft Drinks: Coca-Cola
Beer: Heineken
Luxury Fashion Retailer: Louis Vuitton
Cosmetics: Shiseido
Bank: HSBC
Full-Service Airline: Singapore Airlines
Car / Automotive: Toyota
Commenting on the study, Thomas Isaac, Director - Research Services, Hong Kong & Singapore says: “These rankings are a key indicator of the success with which these brands continue to lead in understanding, engaging and meeting the needs of Asian consumers. It’s interesting to note that the top 5 brands are now Asian brands.”
The full listing of the Top 1000 Brands’ appears in Media magazine’s Top 1,000 Brands’ supplement distributed to magazine subscribers in June 2009.
