What Makes A Brand The Best?

from the idle-contemplation dept

The results of the latest "Best Brands" survey are out, with Sony, Dell and, um, Kraft topping the list. Every year, a market research company asks a sample of American adults "which three brands do you consider the best?" and every year, the results are slightly puzzling. Another company compiles a global list each year, applying quantitative criteria to come up with its rankings, which feature the more usual list of suspects, and differs pretty significantly. So what, then, makes a brand the best or most valuable, and furthermore, aren't these lists pretty meaningless? For example, a Mac news site points out that Apple didn't make the cut on the US survey, with 3 of its competitors in the top ten. Those companies also outrank Apple on the global list, but it hasn't stopped it from destroying them in iPod sales. One valid argument there is that the iPod brand is probably separate from -- and maybe stronger than -- the Apple brand. But is that really very important, as long as products keep selling?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Ivan Sick, 4 Aug 2005 @ 8:36pm

    No Subject Given

    I honestly can't think of a case where "best" isn't subjective.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Boilerbob, 5 Aug 2005 @ 7:13am

    What makes them "Best"

    Although it has no real relevance for my life, if you are running a company and want to be one of the best this would be informative. The question is what makes these companies the best? Is it the products, the advertising, customer service, or just hearing their names 100 times a day? Considering most people go to work and see Microsoft's name everwhere on the desktop and never see Apple's, the gut reaction is to say MS is "better" then Apple.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    cheesy, 5 Aug 2005 @ 8:22am

    No Subject Given

    mmm... Velveeeeeeta. Nothing says quality like psuedo cheese

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.