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Most popular brands according to Romanian internet users
2009-03-12
On 25-26 February 2009, in Romania, the Digital Marketing Forum 2009 took place, with the subjects of the conference covering new areas of media and marketing: online marketing, mobile marketing, advergaming, consumer generated content, blogging, 3G technology and video sharing. During the event, the report ‘Leading Brands by Romanian Internet Users 2009’, encompassing the outcomes of the study conducted by Gemius in partnership with Evensys, was presented.
The main aim of the ‘Leading Brands by Romanian Internet Users 2009’ research was the indication of the leading brands in various categories, as perceived by Romanian internet users aged 18-45. Furthermore, the purpose of the study was the establishment of changes in the perception of the characteristics determining a leading and online brand.
The methodology used in the ‘Leading Brands by Romanian Internet Users 2009’ study included the employment of unique indices: Leading Brands Index and Online Presence Index. They were created on the basis of the most important features of ‘leading brands’ or ‘online presence’ that respondents were asked to indicate at the very beginning of the questionnaire. For each of the features, a different weight was calculated that was proportional to the percentage of respondents who indicated the feature as important for considering a brand as a leading one. The suggested features of leading brands included quality, distinctiveness and trustworthiness. Those for online presence were, among others, the fact of having one’s own web site and the sale of one’s own products online. The two above-mentioned indices were used for all product categories.
Brands in General
According to the outcomes presented in the report, when asked about the most popular general brand, every third Romanian internet user (aged 18-45) spontaneously responds: Coca-Cola; while the top three includes such names as Nokia and Nike. Interestingly, in the top ten one can also find Dacia, being the only Romanian brand which reached such high a position among general brands. Posing a question about the most trusted brands results in the choice of Nokia, Coca-Cola and Sony. In comparison, Romanian internet users, when indicating brands which are most present on the web, choose Google, Yahoo and... Coca-Cola.
Romanian Brands
Among native brands, the indisputable leader is Dacia, being the choice of almost every third respondent. Interestingly, it is also the most trustworthy brand and the one most frequently chosen as present on the internet, according to Romanian web users. Worth noting is the fact that 3 percent of the respondents, when asked about the most popular Romanian brand, indicated ‘Dracula’, despite the fact that it is not the brand of a product.Online Brands
The results of the inquiry about the perception of online brands show the strong advantage of the international giants, Google and Yahoo. Not only do these brands occupy the first two places in respect of unaided and aided awareness, but they also have the highest Leading Brand Index rate. Moreover, as mentioned above, they are also most often spontaneously indicated by Romanian internet users as general brands most present on the internet. Still, Romanian internet users do not forget about native online brands: as many as five of them appear in the top ten online brands in unaided awareness.
Most Recognisable Products’ Brands
Regarding the rankings connected with given product categories, in the category ‘Banks and Insurance’, ING attained the best result as regards Leading Brands Index and unaided awareness of the brand. However, when the choice of the respondents is aided, this leader is outrun by BCR and BRD.
In the narrow brand category which is ‘Telecommunications’, Vodafone and Orange are the two brands with highest results regarding Leading Brands as well as Online Presence Index. They are also the brands in this category which are most often spontaneously chosen by respondents.
In the category ‘Personal Care’, the brands which turn out to be the most popular are Nivea, Avon, L’Oreal and Oriflame. This is the case in general, except when the comparison of brands is based on the Leading Brands Index: then Vichy and Dove take the first places in the ranking. In the study of aided awareness of the brands, Gillette takes the lead, though with a statistically insignificant advantage.
When analysing the responses in the category ‘Electronic products’, one may notice that Sony is both the most well-known brand and the most recognised name. However, the leader, when both indices are used, is Nokia, and this outcome shows the importance of the brand in the category of electronic products.
Within the category ‘IT’, every fourth respondent indicates Microsoft in the unaided awareness question. The Redmond giant is also the unquestionable leader in the remaining rankings, while Windows and Sony follow it closely.
Within the category ‘Cars’, BMW and Mercedes-Benz respectively are the two most popular brands, according to both indices used in the study. However, in the unaided awareness ranking, it is Dacia which takes the place of Mercedes-Benz as the second most popular brand. The outcomes in the ‘Cars’ category also give the basis on which to draw the conclusion that awareness of car brands is very high among Romanian internet users, as 13 out of 18 presented brands are recognised by at least 90 percent of respondents in the aided awareness ranking.
Download the complete version of the press release in the Word format
Contact:
Catalin Emilian - catalin.emilian@gemius.com