Global brand strategy, design, and experience firm Siegel+Gale (www.siegelgale.com) today announced the findings of the sixth annual Global Brand Simplicity Index™ (www.simplicityindex.com). Leading discount supermarket chain ALDI topped the list as the world’s simplest brand for the third year running, while Google dominated the Middle East rankings. The study, based on an online survey of more than 12,000 respondents across eight countries, ranks 585 brands based on their perceived simplicity.
Some of the key findings from the report this year include:
·Simplicity pays: 63 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for simpler experiences.
·Simplicity gets shared: 69 percent of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand because it’s simple.
·Simplicity outperforms: Data from the past six years shows a stock portfolio comprised of the publicly traded simplest brands in the Global Top 10 outperforms the major indexes by 213 percent.
“The Global Brand Simplicity Index has shown year after year that the benefits of simplicity remain constant,” says Howard Belk, co-CEO and chief creative officer, at Siegel+Gale. “Brands that offer simpler customer experiences are rewarded with passionate customer loyalty, more innovative employees and greater revenue. In short, embracing simplicity improves the bottom line for brands and organizations.”
Brands can scale or plummet in the rankings based on a multitude of factors, including expansion of product offerings, or improved communications. Some brand rankings have remained consistent throughout the past six years, but other brands have fluctuated. Highlights from this year’s study include:
Google stays securely in the top spot this year in the Middle East, demonstrating a stalwart commitment to keeping things simple for customers.
Bupa, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company, Tawuniya and Oman Insurance Company’s spots in the bottom 10 of the Middle East rankings show that for insurance companies, achieving simplicity certainly isn’t easy.
Delivering Simplicity
As part of this year’s study, Siegel+Gale interviewed marketing leaders and founders of brands that have consistently performed well in the index, to understand why and how they provide simpler experiences—to both employees and customers. Through interviews with Google, Dunkin’ Donuts, Gannet, CVS Health, Zappos and Southwest Airlines, it’s apparent that weaving simplicity throughout brand experience is key to success.
Simply Social
This year Siegel+Gale introduced a new section in the report, which examines how consumers use social media platforms to perform certain tasks, and the implications for brands. They found brands should:
Entertain before they sell: The primary reason consumers use social media is to find new sources of entertainment.
Get noticed, but don’t disrupt: Ads that align to a social platform’s purpose are least disruptive to consumers.
Explore social customer service: Consumers find it effective (though only a small percentage are using it).
The 2015 Global Brand Simplicity Index™ Top 10 Brands in the Middle East
YouTube
Al Baik
Samsung
Toshiba
Panda
Sony
Toyota
Yahoo!
Carrefour