Announcing Prophet Brand Relevance Index

Prophet announced the results of the second China Prophet Brand Relevance Index (BRI), a ranking of the most relevant brands in consumers’ lives today. Alipay and WeChat maintained their respectivefirst and second standings as the most relevant brands for the second consecutive year, while Android, IKEA and Apple moved into the top five this year. 

Top Ten Most Relevantbrands in China are:

1 Alipay

2 WeChat

3 Android

4 IKEA

5 Apple

6 Nike

7 Estee Lauder

8 BMW

9 Marriot

10 NetEase Cloud Music

Five of the top 10 and almost half of the top 50 brands are technology-led, while the rest have all invested substantially in digital to better connect with consumers – proving that the most compelling brand experiences happen on demand, across devices and channels – not in onespace or during one interaction. 

“Brands today cannot stay still. They need to earn and re-earn loyalty at every micro moment in the customer journey, again and again. They have to be relentlessly relevant. This is more true in China than anywhere else. The brands that scored high in our Index enjoy healthy long-term demand and a strong bottom line because they are constantly reinventing themselves to satisfy and delight consumers,” said Tom Doctoroff, Senior Partner at Prophet.

“Chinese consumers today live, work and playin a connected, digital world, so the brands that deliver useful, easily accessible and enjoyable experiences are going to be the most relevant to their lives,” added Doctoroff. “This is our second Brand Relevance Index in China, and Alipay and WeChat dominate once again as the top two brands because they brilliantly use technology to innovate and inspire consumers.”

Prophet's methodology is based on the theories of Professor David Aaker, Vice Chairman of Prophet and author of “Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant.” The China Prophet Brand Relevance Index™ measure brands against four principles that have been proven to define brand relevance: customer obsession, ruthless pragmatism, pervasive innovation, and distinctive inspiration. Using these four principles, Prophet conducted a survey of 13,500 Chinese consumers on 235 brands across 30 industries in 39 cities encompassing 4 tier 1, 16 tier 2 and 19 tier 3 cities. 

“There are many brand ranking surveys, especially in China, but the Prophet Brand Relevance Index™ is the only brand ranking based solely on consumer feedback. That is why there are critical differences between our findings and the rankings based on market cap, company size or a black box algorithm,” said Jacqueline Alexis Thng, Partner and lead for China BRI study. “By speaking directly with consumers, we’re able to understand Chinese consumers’ preferences in both local and global brands, pulling apart relevance in tier 1 and 2 versus tier 3 cities.”

The Prophet Brand Relevance Index is able to further give insights into brands that are truly indispensable in people’s lives and how forces like innovation, the experience economy and technology are influencing and changing consumer behaviors. Business leaders and brand builders can use the Index to identify areas of strength and ways to improve the relevance of their brands.

Key Findings

There are several key findings from the Index that reveal major emerging and growing trends in the way consumers interact with brands and what’s important to them:

• The Rise of the "Experience Economy". Now, more than ever, consumers desire unique and immersive experiences. Brands must elevate experiences to pamper and help consumers assert status. Similar to 2016, 10 luxury hospitality and auto brands rank high in the top 50. Brands like Marriott (#9), W Hotels (#11) and BMW (#8) that focus on exquisite experience and design are ranked higher than most brands for being distinctively inspired. Approximately 20 hotel and auto brands are in the top 100.

• A Happier and Healthier China. Music, gaming, entertainment and sporting goods are on the rise. There are more gaming, entertainment and sports brands in the top 50 than financial services, airlines, beauty and restuarant brands combined. Working out, making the time to connect with friends via games and sports, and enjoying oneself are being valued in China like never before. There is a growing shift towards prioritizing the balance between emotional and physical well-being, instead of focusing on just physical health. More than a fifth of the top 50 brands are music (NetEase Cloud Music #10), gaming (Riot Games #27, Blizzard #29), entertainment (Ocean Park #21, Disney #42) and sports brands (Nike #6, adidas #20).

• The Age of Digital, Socialization and Individuality. Digital, social media and ecommerce brands continue to dominate in the Index. The top two brands, Alipay and WeChat, are runaway winners that rank highest across all four principles of relevance. Both have built an unrivalled, integrated social, payment, gamification and shopping platform. How consumers socialize today in China is constantly changing, and brands need to be agile, flexible and quick to adapt to meet their needs. The Chinese crave experiences that say something unique about them that they can share with their friends and followers, which is what QQ (#28) provides them. Consumers are also showing a greater desire to try (Taobao #35), test (Meituan #40) and taste products (Dianping #41) that demonstrate their individuality.

• Sharing Economy Brands Continue to Grow. As restuarants and airlines continue to lose relevance, sharing economy brands such as Mobike (#14) and Airbnb (#45) rank at the top of the Index for being more pragmatic. Bubbling outside of top 50 are ofo (#54) and Didi (#87).

“It’s clear to be successful, brands need more than size and ubiquity. They must create a product that people love enough to integrate into their everyday lives. The brands that inspire this level of loyalty will ultimately grow the fastest because they are relevant in the moments that matter most to consumers,” said Leon Zhang, Partner at Prophet, based in Shanghai. 

Full Report

To visit the full list and this year's relevance themes, please click 'Read More' at the bottom to visit our microsite.