The idea of brand intimacy — building enduring emotional connections between brands and people has gained strength during the Covid pandemic, according to MBLM, a marketing consultancy..
Jack Daniel’s leads bev/al brands, ranking 56th out of the top 102. Jack Daniel’s actually leads Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Nestle. Coming up at 68th place is Coors, followed by Budweiser (which Anheuser-Busch InBev decided not to advertise during the Super Bowl), Heineken at No. 80, and Miller at No. 88.
With Covid raging, it’s interesting to see what matters to consumers. Fulfilling expectations, providing great customer service, is No. 1, followed by identity, or reflecting an aspirational image, like Mercedes-Benz, integrating a brand into his daily actions, nostalgia, and a felling one is being pampered.
“People have connected with beverage brands more than in previous years, although there is opportunity for greater improvement,” said Mario Natarelli, managing partner, MBLM. “As we sought at-home entertainment and ways to recreate the restaurant experience during quarantine, many beverage brands found new ways to define their relationship with consumers, moving away from images of parties and social gatherings. Those that established the strongest emotional connections during COVID-19 will maintain their stronghold as providing comfort even when we return to normal life.”
Top intimate beverage brands continue to significantly outperform the leading brands in the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 indices across revenue growth, profit growth and stock price.
Building and maintaining strong emotional connections with users is a core tenet of Brand Intimacy and is also a key principle for navigating challenging times. Additional significant beverage industry findings include:
- The beverage industry ranks seventh in this study, maintaining its position from the 2020 rankings.
- Beverages perform better with men than women and with consumers over 35 years old versus younger ones.
- Coca-Cola was the top overall brand for men and women, while Jack Daniel’s was the top brand for millennials.
- The industry has improved its percentage of users in some form of intimacy, now at 25 percent up from 22 percent last year.