March 7th, 2017, Bridget Gleeson
YouGov’s Brandindex yearly rankings of the best perceived brands by women in the UAE has been topped by Emirates Airline.
Top 10
Emirates is the most positively perceived brand by women in the UAE over the past year. 2016 also saw Emirates crowned as the number 1 brand in the overall YouGov Brandindex UAE Buzz rankings. The airline giant continues to impress with star studded advertising campaigns and a consistent level of customer satisfaction.
The second most positively perceived brand by women in the UAE is the social messaging App Whatsapp, With the introduction of ‘Status’ video stories and updated in-app features, Whatsapp continues to appeal to users.
The UAE’s premier Hypermarket Carrefour comes in at third place, and is the only hypermarket in the rankings. Carrefour has seen a steady increase in perception throughout 2016, with news of planned expansions and a revamp of their online store helping continue the growth into 2017.
Apple, sits at fourth place in the rankings, with the 2016 release of the new mac book pro, iOS 10 Software, the Apple Watch Series 2 and the iPhone 7 with wireless AirPods, Apple have had a year of updated releases.
Facebook takes fifth place in the yearly rankings of the best perceived brands by women in the UAE top 10. With the launch of 360 photos and videos across the platform, new and improved app features and the launch of ‘Marketplace’, consumers are continually engaging with the brand.
The world’s largest video-streaming website YouTube sits at sixth place. With a continued increase in content, as well as the introduction of 4k and 360° video, the platform is well perceived by women in the UAE.
Samsung at seventh place, has gone through a tough period in the past year with the company recall of some 2.5 million note 7 devices following multiple battery issues worldwide. The release of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, as well as a push into virtual reality, may have helped boost Samsung’s brand impression among women.
The leisure and entertainment venue Global Village proves popular among women ranking eighth in in top ten.
Swedish furniture titan IKEA at ninth place, celebrated their 25th year in the UAE with exclusive product deals, cash-back offers, new speciality dishes at its restaurants and family friendly activities throughout 2016.
Google in tenth place have had an exciting year, with the announcement of their smart phone the Pixel, the release of 360° views of UAE landmarks in Google Maps and the release of video messaging app Google Duo.
| Top 10 Brands | ||
|---|---|---|
Rank | Brand | Impression Score Feb 1 2016 - Jan 31 2017 |
1 | Emirates | 67.5 |
2 | 62.3 | |
3 | Carrefour | 60.0 |
4 | Apple | 53.3 |
5 | 50.3 | |
6 | YouTube | 49.7 |
7 | Samsung | 49.3 |
8 | Global Village | 49.1 |
9 | IKEA | 48.1 |
10 | 47.8 |
Improvers
Unlike the tech heavy top 10 list, the greatest improvers over the past year focused more on leisure and entertainment venues.
Leading the way is Global Village, with the attraction’s 21st season beginning this year, multitudes of new pavilions including the all new Far East pavilion, the Algeria pavilion and the Eastern Europe pavilion all seem to have led to a large increase in brand perception among women in the UAE.
Laundry detergent brand Persil is second in improvers, with women in the UAE showing a more positive perception of the brand over the last year.
The newly opened City Walk shopping district in Dubai ranks third as the most improved brand perception among women, with new restaurants, stores and experiences continuing to open throughout the year.
Family favourite Kiri shows an improvement, with innovative marketing campaigns such as the #BetterWhenShared partnership with Uber during Ramadan to help share left over food, along with the “Number One Fan” mother’s day campaign helping to boost brand perception among women in the UAE. The only other food brand in the top 10, Lurpak comes in at eighth place.
Yas Mall and Marina Mall (fifth and seventh place respectively) give a nod to the offerings of the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi as a shopping destination.
Huawei and Facebook round out the tech companies in the improvers at sixth and ninth place respectively.
Anantara finishes the list in tenth place as the only Hotel or Resort included in the yearly brand perception among women in the UAE rankings.
| Top 10 Improvers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Brand | Impression Score Feb 1 2016 - Jan 31 2017 | Impression Score Feb 1 2015 - Jan 31 2016 | Change in Score |
1 | Global Village | 49.1 | 36.0 | 13.1 |
2 | Persil | 18.9 | 13.5 | 5.4 |
3 | City Walk | 10.3 | 5.6 | 4.7 |
4 | Kiri | 19.9 | 15.4 | 4.5 |
5 | Yas Mall | 20.0 | 15.8 | 4.3 |
6 | Huawei | 5.9 | 1.9 | 3.9 |
7 | Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi | 19.4 | 15.4 | 3.9 |
8 | Lurpak | 24.9 | 21.1 | 3.8 |
9 | 50.3 | 46.6 | 3.7 | |
10 | Anantara | 14.8 | 11.2 | 3.7 |
YouGov’s BrandIndex Daily Brand Tracker measured women’s Brand Perception by asking women aged 18 and over daily "Do you have a general positive or negative impression of the brand?". Respondents are interviewed from YouGov’s online panel.