The Factory Blogger...

A recent study has found that brands that create 'desire' in the mindset of the consumer are beginning to outperform the more traditional brands.

So which brands are doing it the best?

In a recent survey the top 100 'desirable brands' were cross referenced with the S&P 500 which showed that the average return on investment for a company that owns a desirable brand is 12.8%, versus 7.5% for the S&P 500 as a whole, based on the last five years’ performance.

The list of the UK's top 20 desirable brands is as follows...
1. iPhone
2. Rolls-Royce
3. iPod
4. Cadbury
5. Ray-Ban
6. Emirates
7. Sony
8. Red Cross
9. Fairtrade
10. Aston Martin
11. Nintendo
12. Prada
13. iTunes
14. Disney
15. Google
16. Playstation
17. Rolex
18. Apple
19. Bang & Olufson
20. Tag Heuer

Desire however does not necessarily correlate with expensive.

Out of the top 20 brands only 8 are considered 'expensive' and only 25% of the top 100 UK brands that featured are 'luxury products'.

So how do we make a brand 'desirable'?
The key (as ever) lies in understanding what motivates your audience.

Money invested in direct discussions (such a focus groups) with your audience is never money wasted.
Desirable brands tend to appeal to the hearts and minds more so than the practical side of human nature. To do this they generally need a simple proposition rather than lists of features and benefits (although these are still important)

This Christmas the 'youth market' bucked the trend for high street shopping. As a whole, this new generation of consumers are less brand loyal and more likely to follow trends.

The more savvy brands were quick to realise this and have appealed to fashion more so than reason.

The whole article AND the top 100 list can be found here, it makes for interesting reading.