Most Connected Brands US 2022
Opinium reveals its 2022 ranking of the Top 100 US Most Connected Brands
Opinium has revealed the Top 100 US Most Connected Brands (MCB) in 2022. Now in its fourth year, the ranking is the first ever Index to be compiled exclusively from consumer feedback.
The MCB Index identifies Amazon as the number one brand that consumers connect with, followed by Google at number 2. Both have retained the top two spots for 4 consecutive years. YouTube sits in at 3rd place, rising 6 spots since 2021, with Apple and Samsung coming in 4th and 5th respectively.
The Most Connected Brands in the US are those that have succeeded in becoming indispensable to consumers’ daily lives. In an era of expanding customer expectations and constant competitive disruption, the Most Connected Brands are the ones that continually find new ways to connect with consumers in order to thrive and grow.
Rising cost of living
As Americans face rising living costs and soaring inflation it is fitting that this year’s biggest climber is budget brand Costco. Soaring up the list 35 places, from 69th in 2021 to 34th this year, it’s likely that people are turning to the reliable, cost-effective brand as they try to manage day to day costs increasing.
Costco is joined by budget retailers Target (+4 spots), Aldi (+3), and Trader Joe’s (+3) on its march up the ranking.
Tech entrenchment and a blockbuster year for gaming
Despite a tough year for tech, many players in the industry are still making gains in this year’s Index. Top 10 brands YouTube, Apple, Samsung, and Sony have all climbed in the rankings. Sony and Apple have both made it into the top 10 for the first time this year, jumping 17 and 9 spots respectively. In times of great uncertainty, Americans appear to still be finding comfort in man’s best friend, the smartphone.
Sony’s sharp rise can be attributed to 2022 being a blockbuster year for gaming. Xbox, Nintendo, and PlayStation have all climbed in the rankings by 12, 8, and 2 spots respectively. We may be seeing the aftereffects of consumers spending more time gaming and therefore deepening their connection to the category during the pandemic. Many games in development in 2020 were also delayed, pushing launch dates into 2022 and making it a particularly exciting year for new releases.
Finally, TikTok has surged 31 spots in this year’s ranking, unsurprisingly driven by younger digital audiences.
Driving change
The global pandemic led to a rise in demand for personal transportation as public transport was either avoided or inaccessible for many – this was highlighted by last year’s MCB Index where Opinium saw an uplift in scores across all auto brands in the top 100. This year sees an end to this trend, with automotive brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota falling down the rankings and becoming less front of mind for consumers.
Methodology
The central pillar running through the heart of Opinium’s approach is to identify the brands that matter most to consumers. Opinium developed the master brand list based on three data streams that speak to the different types of relationships that consumers have with a brand: (1) a nationally representative study of the nation’s top brands where consumers were invited to spontaneously recall their favorite brands, (2) social media velocity and brand mentions, (3) brand revenue.
Opinium’s nationally representative study surveyed 4,000 consumers. Based on their experience of evaluating brands via their Connected Brands Framework, they based the Most Connected Brands Index score on the four key measures that matter most to consumers: prominence, distinction, emotion, and dynamism.
To ensure that the index was statistically robust and proven to relate to what truly matters to consumers, Opinium ran correlation analysis to create the weights for the selected variables. The derived Most Connected Brands score is then calculated as a weighted average of these variables. These scores are then indexed on the average, providing a ranking of all the brands included in the study.
Click on the image below to see the entire Top 100 Most Connected Brands 2022
