What: Google sits at the top of the list of the top 10 most influential brands in Latin America and Spain.
Why It Matters: Grupo DDB Latina used its Influence Score metrics to evaluate more than a thousand brands in the region through precise and detailed data.
DDB Group Latina has released the results of research conducted in Spain through its Influence Score metric, which measure brands’ influence and serves as a tool for pulling qualitative data from online surveys and online monitoring of social networks and search engines.
The study was originally conducted in six countries: Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, to identify and classify the most influential brands in each market and region.
To do so, they evaluated more than 1,150 local, Latin and global brands that each received an “Influence Score,” or “IS,” the result of the combination of two factors — expressed influence and inferred influence.
These are the brands that made it into the list of the top 10 most influential brands in Latin America.
1. Google
Google took first place in all of Latin America and Spain, and in the majority of the countries, came in far ahead of the second-ranked brand. Its strength is in, more than anything, expressed influence, which measures the level of connection that people feel to the brand.
Consumers agree that Google’s influence is related to two factors: that the brand is increasingly on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and that it is consistently innovative.
Google’s finds most room for growth in social responsibility, where it came in with its lowest score (still above 60%, nonetheless). In terms of inferred influence, which is obtained through the analysis of the presence of the brand in digital spaces and measures its capacity to generate an organic audience, Google was surpassed, in some countries, by some of its competitors in the digital world, like Facebook and Twitter.
The decisive factor for Google’s leadership is its presence in all digital spaces, mentions of its new projects and products, the content that it generates and the tools it offers.
2. Apple
The most valuable company in the world in almost all markets is strongest in expressed influence. Consumers highlighted its ability to adapt to change, especially in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Like in the case of Google, its Achilles heel is social responsibility, as consumers are not perceiving that the brand has a purpose beyond the simple objective of selling its products and services.
When it comes to inferred influence, due to the relationships that people have with the brand in digital spaces, Apple wins in almost all categories for the number of mentions that people make of the brand and its products and services. A good example is the anticipation for the launch of the latest iPhone, which flooded the web with speculation and rumors about its functions. Tim Cook, the company’s current CEO, and Steve Jobs, generate a large amount of content that add to the brand’s influence in the region.
3. Coca-Cola
Despite the criticism that the brand receives about nutrition and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, Coca-Cola continues to be the most traditional of the most influential brands. But unlike high-tech companies, its influence varies greatly from one market to the next. While in the biggest — like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia — it is among the most influential brands, other markets like Chile have all but abandoned the brand, as it doesn’t even come into the country’s top 40.
Coca-Cola’s greatest strength is its ability to innovate, while in markets like Brazil, its influence comes from the fact that people believe that the brand is very present in the media and on social networks.
It has two weak points: social responsibility (which is judged harshly in markets like Argentina, Spain and Colombia) and its commercial interest being perceived as more important than its altruistic endeavors (in countries like Chile, Brazil and Mexico). The brand also stands apart for its inferred influence. Its visual and video content generates a very wide audience, and feeds an increasingly robust conversation.
4. Samsung
This brand generates influence through innovation — both in inferred influence (for example, through the content it generates on its own channels) and expressed influence, where consumers perceive it as a leader.
Like its rival Apple, its greatest weakness is social responsibility. In countries like Chile, its score in this category is below the average. For that reason, Chile is the only market in which Samsung doesn’t appear in the top 10. In the other countries, it comes in in the top eight.
5. Visa
This is the only brand from the financial category in the top 25. It’s position varies radically according to the market. Thanks to the two largest in the region — Brazil and Mexico — the brand achieves a privileged position.
It’s presence on social media and sponsorships of sporting events in Brazil were key to consolidating an audience that consumes and follows its content. In almost all of the markets it is perceived as “a brand that you would recommend to friends or families,” while one of its stumbling blocks is social responsibility and innovation.
6. Sony
Sony was a leader in preference and recognition in the category of home appliances, as well as in content and entertainment. Today it is still considered a very influential brand in the region, coming in just a few points below Samsung. It is strong in Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
It stands apart primarily for quality and trustworthiness, and is also viewed as recommendable. Perhaps its greatest weakness has to do with generating conversations, more than anything in Chile. In terms of social media, it has many challenges ahead in markets like Argentina and Mexico.
7. Adidas
The clothing and sporting goods brand is one of the best thanks to the work that it has done on social media, which gives it a leg up in countries like Brazil, Chile, and Spain. In this last country, its presence is linked to Real Madrid, which is the fifth most-popular brand in the country.
In expressed influence, consumers show their affinity for Adidas primarily through two aspects: being recommendable, and for surprising innovation. It’s greatest weakness is social responsibility, and lack of a greater purpose.
8. Facebook
The newest brand in the top 10 is now a part of everyone’s daily life. Brazil and Mexico are among the five countries with the greatest number of Facebook users. So in terms of inferred influence, Facebook appears in all of the countries’ top 10 lists.
Expressed influence shows that Latin Americans see Facebook as a brand that is becoming more popular. To Argentines, Chileans and Spanish users, the brand’s greatest value is in its ability to adapt to change.
9. Nike
Despite the fact that Nike doesn’t sponsor any of these countries’ national teams, in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, Nike comes in above Adidas on the rankings. It’s work in digital media sets it apart, and it has generated a relevant audience with influencers, the media and final consumers.
In terms of expressed interest, in all of the markets, there is a consensus that innovation is its greatest strength. Its weakness, like in the case of Adidas, is a lack of a visible commitment to social responsibility.
10. Volkswagen
The only automobile brand in the top 10 is a leader in countries like Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Argentina. Its influence doesn’t seem to be affected by the “dieselgate” scandal that occurred last year, at least in this region. Nonetheless, consumers do not believe that this brand has a greater purpose or that it is socially responsible.
When it comes to inferred influence, the brand has high interaction with consumers, which is observed in the consumption of its content and interaction on digital platforms in all of the countries.
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