Most Connected Brands – Walkers (5th)
The magic ingredient
Walkers remains one of the nation’s best loved snack brands, and this year moves into the top five brands overall, rising nine places from 2019.
The brand is the second highest ranked food and drink brand behind Cadbury and in a category, which is generally the most connected, consumers feel particularly allied to the nation’s favourite crisp brand – it’s one they just can’t live without for a third year running.
It’s hard not to see Walkers as that essential everyday brand, it’s a brand that people take to work, buy in the newsagent as a snack, share with friends in the pub and send their kids to school with – and is very much a staple ingredient of the British diet. Whilst Walkers remains a truly iconic British brand, with over 70 years of heritage and strong local links, consumers also consider it one of the most Dynamic, with this particular association ever more apparent in 2020, with a five-point increase from 2019.
Evidence of its recent dynamism comes in the form of its partnership with some of the nation’s favourite high street restaurants such as Pizza Express, Nando’s and GBK. This clever partnership is bringing crisp munchers in Britain a new flavour range based on some of the best-selling dishes in the UK today as part of its Taste Icon range. Some very distinctive flavours are afoot! Indeed, the brand is now the most Distinctive it has been since we began tracking in 2018, which is a major factor in its overall rise to fifth place.
Walkers certainly has its finger on the pulse and yet remains very much a British icon, balancing heritage and forward thinking perfectly. It knows how to remain on trend, relevant and fun whilst never forgetting its long heritage and strong local links.
Although Walkers does not generally over index compared to other brands for any single emotional association, the brand’s phenomenal placing derives from how consistently it over indexes on positive associations. Walkers has a very broad positivity that connects consumers across so many different aspects. Most notably, and oh so important for an everyday brand – it makes people feel happy and makes them smile, but at the same time makes them feel secure.
With an ever-expanding list of flavours and limited editions that are keeping the brand fresh, alongside ever-present classics, the magic ingredients of heritage and fun look set to see Walkers go from strength to strength.
Download the full report at www.mostconnectedbrands.com
