The consumer goods industry ranked high, placing fifth out of the 15 industries studied in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2019 Study, which is the largest study of brands based on emotion relating to the U.S. market. Based on a review undertaken last year, consumer goods have taken a larger share of the brand intimacy top 100.
What is brand intimacy?
Brand intimacy is defined as a data-driven approach to business that measures the bonds people form with the brands they use and love. This is based on the concept central to emotional branding that an emotional response, as opposed to rational thought, dominates a customer’s buying choice. To assess how different brands stack up based on this emotional connection, qualitative surveys backed by quantitative data can assess the relationship between brand and customer.
This positive performance has been shown to correspond to an increase in industry sales, which was estimated at $800 billion in 2018, growing from $786 billion in 2017. As an example of this, the new report finds that Hershey’s, the number one ranked brand in consumer goods, showed strong first quarter 2019 financial results. The chocolate company had consolidated net sales of $2,0165 million, which represented an increase of 2.3 percent. Additionally consumer goods was the top performing industry in the ‘willing to pay 20 percent more’ category in the study, demonstrating strong price resilience in that consumers are willing to pay a premium for a brand they feel a connection with.
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Report outcomes
As to which are the most intimate brands for U.S. consumers, according to MBLM’s study, Hershey’s is ranked first in the industry, followed by Campbell and Quaker. The remaining of the top 10 is made up of: Betty Crocker, Ben & Jerry’s, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Pillsbury, Stouffer’s and Lay’s. In terms of movement from 2018, Ben & Jerry’s and Campbell rose in the rankings , while Quaker and Kellogg’s fell.
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An important factor explaining why consumer goods are growing in terms of brand intimacy is nostalgia, a factor that focuses on memories and the feelings associated with them (this is called out in the case of Herjey’s, wher there is a connection made with childhood moments of indulgence). There are some demographic variations, however, with Hershey’s ranking number one for millennials; whereas for users ages 35-64, Quaker came out as the as the top brand. Furthermore, women selected Betty Crocker in top spot, while men opted for Hershey’s.
