Apple has emerged as the most intimate brand among UAE consumers, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank earned a place in the top 10 alongside a collection of global names in a leading survey.

Lexus, Samsung and Mercedes are among the other highest ranked brands in the MBLM Brand Intimacy 2015 Report for the UAE. The study is one of the most comprehensive ratings of brands based on emotion.

The UAE country report, issued from MBLM Dubai, has been commissioned for the first time to truly understand the emotional bonds between consumers in the Emirates and brands.  It is part of a wider global research initiative analysing the responses of 6,000 consumers and 52,000 brand evaluations in the US, Mexico and the Emirates.

Designed to give a better understanding of how effective brands create powerful connections with consumers, it spotlights emotion as the driver of decision-making, showing how we feel about a brand as the best predictor of behaviour.

“This report is based on quantitative research among consumers where our goal was to measure, quantify and better understand how emotions impact brand relationships and further dimension which brands are most successful at creating these bonds,” said William Shintani, partner at MBLM.

“The significance of the research findings is that intimate brands make business sense. The top ten most intimate brands outperform established financial indices for both revenue and profit growth over 10 years. These brands also command a price premium, enjoying more financial resilience than brands in the same industries that are not intimate.”

Technology features prominently in the UAE top ten, with Samsung placed third, Sony in seventh and Google ninth, while top luxury automotive brands also show up well, with Lexus in second place and Toyota fourth.

Underlining the ability of retail brands to create intimacy with their consumers, global coffee chain Starbucks was ranked sixth and Swedish home store Ikea took the 10th  spot.

Personal care specialist Dove at fifth is the only health and beauty brand to make the top ten.

“At MBLM, we define brand intimacy as an essential relationship between a person and a brand, that when achieved has been proven to result in improved business performance,” said
Jae Hwang, Partner at MBLM.

Apple was also No 1 in the top rankings for the 10 most intimate brands in the US and Mexico.  – TradeArabia News Service