"The study shows that valuable brands lead to successful businesses. Between 2006 and 2015, the BrandZ™ Global Top 100 Brands have risen in value from US$1.4 Trillion to US$3.3 Trillion – an increase of 126 percent," said Usana Chantarklum, Managing Director of Millward Brown Firefly Thailand.
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In 2015, BrandZ™ Thailand covers six key categories including financial, automotive, telecommunications, female beauty/skin care, health beverages and food service restaurants.
The five top drivers of success for brands in Thailand were found to be the following:
1. Stands for a purpose and is meaningful to consumers
2. Is different versus the competition
3. Understands not only "what" their consumers want, but also "why"
4. Innovates continuously
5. Delivers a total brand experience
Leading the findings was Toyota in the automotive category, who showed a meaningful index of 211 points, compared to the industry average of 100. Its brand power score was 24.2 percent, compared to its closest competitor Honda, with 16.3 percent – meaning Toyota is the most influential brand from the perspective of Thai consumers.
"One of the secrets behind Toyota's success is driven by the brand's mission to deliver beyond just a functional benefit. They offer a purpose of trust and reliability to customers, as well as a societal purpose through various activities including holistic services and value-added products," said Chantarklum.
Mercedes Benz also scored a very high 'different' index of 193, supporting its perception of being a unique, aspirational luxury brand. In Thailand, its most defining factor is that consumers perceive it to be distinctive both in appearance and what it stands for. This perception has translated into sales figures, with Mercedes being one of the few brands in the auto sector with double digit growth, while the total automotive market has been on a declining trend.
Thai company Dutch Mill was the leader in the Health Beverage category with a brand power score of 13.1 percent and a meaningful index 50 percent higher than the average in its category. The study shows that this is due to expanded benefits that helped the brand evolve, but kept it meaningful. Millward Brown believes that this is driven by the brand's purpose to deliver nutritional and health values such as improving the digestive system in its original category of drinking yoghurt. This was the main product of the early stages of the Dutch Mill brand. The brand also continues to evolve to offer emotional value, such as giving beauty benefits or launching new products created to give excellent flavour experiences to customers.
In the highly competitive food service restaurant category, KFC is the leader for 2015. With 500 branches in 74 provinces, it is the brand that resonates the most with Thai consumers over its competitors.
"KFC understands what Thai consumers are looking for. They have an affordable pricing strategy, local relevant choices, like their Thai seasoned rice-based meals, as well as high accessibility. It is now considered an iconic brand in Thailand because it has appropriate pricing in regards to quality within the eyes of consumers," explained Chantarklum.
Meanwhile, amongst the Thai Brands, MK scored the highest in the food service restaurants category with a brand power score of 17.3 percent, second only to KFC. MK has managed to gain the highest power and growth potential indices from all the Thai brands, which is an indication of strong brand equity and great growth momentum.
"MK uses key marketing mixes to bring to life holistic experiences. They focus on both their food and service, which is showcased in their advertising that centres on the brand promise of, 'Time to Share the Joy.' Moreover MK has expanded its business under its new concept, 'London Street Community Mall,' which aims to reinforce the brand's positioning and is a method to constantly innovate its business."
Very crucial to value of brands overall is innovation. Millward Brown Firefly Thailand found with the 2015 BrandZ™ Study that the most trend setting companies grew in value by 161 percent, versus just 13 percent growth in the companies with the lowest level of trend setting.
Setting the trends in the banking sector is Kasikorn Bank, or K Bank, seen as a 'star' brand by Thai consumers. K Bank has a brand power score of 16.5%, followed in close second by Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) with 16.1 percent. And in third place was Bangkok Bank with a score of 14 percent. The success of K Bank in this category is based on innovation as the main factor. This is illustrated with their comprehensive digital banking options as well as privileged and special services for customers in each segment, such as 'The Wisdom' and K Bank Private banking service.
Another interesting case in the telecomm sector is True Corporation, which is a Thai brand. BrandZ™ found that True is perceived to be distinctive with strong innovation that creates buzz and recognition. Their strongest point by 18 percent is 'brand buzz' – created by a strong social media presence and robust advertising campaigns. Also defining their brand value is their connection with customers through many touch points, including the home with their cable service, True Move for mobile devices, their True stores and True Coffee outlets adding a hip lifestyle aspect.
The BrandZ™ Thailand findings were based on understanding consumers' perceptions across key brands in six categories, via interviews of 2,400 Thai consumers aged 18-60 years and who are users of each category. BrandZ™ is the world's largest brand equity study, tracking 100,000 brands across 50 markets and more than three million consumer interviews since 1993.
BrandZ™ utilises millions of data points to indicate the values of major brands around the world in order to reflect the differences in consumer perspectives and relationships with brands in each country. In Thailand, the study began in 1999 and covers various categories each year, depending on the economic and social landscape.
Learn more at http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/BrandZ™ / or download a Global 2015 report for free at https://www.millwardbrown.com/BrandZ™ /2015/Global/2015_BrandZ™ _Top100_Report.pdf
For more information, contact Millward Brown Firefly Thailand at Tel: 02-686-6400 or:
http://www.millwardbrown.com/footer/contact/thailand