UAE Exchange, a leading remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand, has been ranked third out of 24 brands surveyed for brand intimacy in the Emirates’ financial services industry.

UAE Exchange was found to have a higher level of Brand Intimacy than many global brands including Visa, MasterCard and Western Union, according to the 2015 UAE Brand Intimacy Report conducted by MBLM in partnership with Praxis.

The UAE Brand Intimacy Report was commissioned for the first time by MBLM to truly understand the emotional bonds between consumers and brands in the UAE.  The report is part of a wider global research initiative analyzing the responses of 6,000 consumers and 52,000 brand evaluations in the US, Mexico and the UAE.

UAE Exchange received a Brand Intimacy Quotient of 39, beating the industry average of 34. The Brand Intimacy Quotient is an index that demonstrates a brand’s ability to create intimate brand relationships and is based on the percentage of users who are intimate with a brand and the intensity of that intimacy.

At its core, Brand Intimacy is about building strong bonds. It factors in reciprocity and emotion as key drivers in decision making and behaviour. This new paradigm reflects how we access, learn about, choose, buy, share and advocate for brands.

According to the report, the strongest archetype of UAE Exchange was ‘enhancement’. This archetype was based on the consumer’s belief that they became better, smarter, more capable and more connected through the services provided by the company.
The second strongest archetype was ‘fulfilment’ which was based on the consumer’s feeling that the company exceeds expectations and delivers superior service, quality and efficacy. Other archetypes commonly related to Brand Intimacy included “identity, ritual, nostalgia and indulgence.”

“Understanding the link between a brand and emotion, we’ve learned that ‘intimate brands’ have higher revenue growth, profit growth and price resiliency than brands that are not intimate,” said Jae Hwang, Partner, MBLM.

“It’s great to see a brand like UAE Exchange be able to establish a strong emotional connection with its customers. It’s no small feat to be placed in the top three of any of the eight industries in the UAE we studied, especially when you take into account the major global brands that were included in the survey.”

Gopakumar Bhargavan, chief marketing officer, UAE Exchange said: “We are delighted to know that UAE Exchange ranks third in the Brand Intimacy Report.  It is a proud moment for us to be recognized for our efforts in providing exceptional customer service that makes a difference in the lives of the customers.” – TradeArabia News Service