Top Brands Divided Along Gender Lines, Survey Finds
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When asked to rate more than 220 brands across ten diverse industries in a recent survey, 4,000 men and women agreed that the top-ranked brand was Southwest Airlines. After that, though, when they were asked to pick their top 10 favorite brands, they largely agreed to disagree. Only Google and Dove joined Southwest to make the cut for both lists.
Fleshing out their top ten lists of brands, women included Hallmark, Kohl's, Lexus, Target, JetBlue, Neutrogena and Crest. Men, on the other hand, added Cadillac, BMW, Apple, Sharp, GE, Macy's and Bed Bath & Beyond to their top 10 picks.
The survey, conducted business intelligence firms Buyology and uSamp following the Super Bowl on Feb. 6-12, typed and measured consumer relationships with brands using rigorous quantitative tools that measure people's deepest, unconscious connections to brands.
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"This year’s brand ranking demonstrates that it’s essential for companies to invest in creating deeper differentiated relationships with their consumers," said Gary Singer, founding partner and CEO of Buyology. "These relationships provide the context that either amplifies or diminishes everything the brand does to connect with its customers."
What didn't surprise about this year's most desired brands is that men and women don't agree on a whole lot, Melissa Hobley, Buyology's chief marketing officer, told BusinessNewsDaily.
"But there are a few commonalities—Google, for example, appears as a desired brand for both and women," she said. "Google makes them feel like they're a part of something bigger. They're drawn to the communities, access to information and how this all makes them feel closer to what's happening in the world."
For women, the survey revealed more brands that help them connect—Hallmark, for example, Hobley said.
"For men, we see more brands that make them feel empowered and emboldened," she said.