For the fourth consecutive year, Interbrand Amsterdam, together with Tijdschrift voor Marketing, has mapped the dynamics of the world of Dutch media brands. We conducted an online quantitative, representative study with 1,000 respondents and evaluated more than 70 media brands.

In addition to producing the ranking of the 25 strongest Dutch media brands, we also extracted key insights outlined here:

Crossing the borders continues

In last year's results we learned that the borders of media of media channels have become more and more blurred. We continue to see media convergence happening. 

Traditional channels like newspapers, magazines, radio and television are growing toward each other. This leads to big changes in media consumption. It's not a surprise then that the internet plays a big role in this.

Two of the strongest brands on this year's list, NU.nl and Uitzendinggemist.nl, demonstrate this. Both are digital brands delivering content that once exclusively belonged to traditional media models. NU.nl is a digital news site providing content once solely the domain of newspapers and magazines. Uitzendinggemist.nl, a media portal, can be seen as an online television platform for missed broadcasts.

Freedom is key

We found many Dutch media brands have room to grow in terms of the Brand Strength Factors Relevance and Differentiation. Brand Strength Factors are the indicators with which we measure brand value. In total there are ten factors. 

Six of these — Authenticity, Relevance, Differentiation, Consistency, Presence and Understanding — are externally focused. These factors measure to what extent a brand's impact on its target audience's behavior is maximized.

These external factors are used in determining the brand values of brands we work with at Interbrand, in our annual global reports and here in our evaluations for Best Dutch Media Brands 2013. The other four of the ten Brand Strength Factors are internal — Clarity, Commitment, Protection and Responsiveness — and measure to what extent the organization can deliver on its promises.

Overall in the case of the 70+ brands we evaluated for our Best Dutch Media Brands 2013 report, we found the scores on Relevance and Differentiation were the lowest of all the external Brand Strength Factors. Consumers perceive that the evaluated media brands can do better in tailoring their offerings to meet their needs. Consumers are not seeing enough distinction between brands.

Uitzendinggemist.nl is a great exception to this. It's one of few brands to offer clearly unique content: true freedom of choice. There's no other brand in the category that delivers the same content. The user experience, or way that the consumer can interact with content — wherever, whenever — provides freedom.

Consumers want to be in control and choose for themselves what and when they consume and through which channel. Ideally, they also have control over the content itself. Think, for example, about preparing your own playlist on Spotify and YouTube or selecting your favorite news categories based on personal interest. Brands that put consumers at their core and respond to freedom of choice with unique content will win on Relevance and Differentiation.

Clearly focus on consumers

The current landscape of Dutch media brands is asking for differentiating, relevant brands with a clear focus on consumers. Consumers are more and more in the lead in a world of media convergence. They decide what, when and how they consume media. Brands need to act on this and bring products and services that address that need to the marketplace.

It becomes more important to be consistently present with relevant content over a broad palette of media types with a focus on digital. Brands that do this best will be brands that can attract demanding consumers who will be loyal to their brand.

Best Dutch Media Brands 2013

Number in () is ranking from 2012. A "-" indicates the brand was not ranked in the top 25 in the 2012 report.

1. NU.nl (2)
2. Uitzending Gemist (14)
3. Nederland 1 (1)
4. RTL 4 (5)
5. Donald Duck (6)
6. TVGids.nl (-)
7. BNR Nieuwsradio (24)
8. Nederland 3 (13)
9. Sky Radio (17)
10. Radio 2 (19)
11. Radio 1 (10)
12. NOS (3)
13. Algemeen Dagblad (8)
14. Quest (-)
15. 3FM (9)
16. Nederland 2 (11)
17. De Telegraaf (4)
18. RTL XL (-)
19. Volkskrant (12)
20. Radio 538 (16)
21. Libelle (7)
22. VPRO (-)
23. Metro (-)
24. Q-music (20)
25. NRC Handelsblad (21)

Marieke Stoffels is Strategy Director, Interbrand Amsterdam.

This blog post is an extract of the full article we wrote for Tijdschrift voor Marketing. The full PDF (in Dutch) can be downloaded at www.inderbrand.nl.

While China Mobile claims the number one spot again, there are some shifts in the top 10 this year, including new entrant Agricultural Bank, making its debut at number seven. The Best China Brands 2012 report also sees new entrants, sector shifts and the dramatic exit of three brands because of significant damage to brand value from safety scandals.

Pharmaceutical company 999, Yuron Food and Shineway, which all exit the list in 2012, were mired in product safety scandals, doing serious damage to their Brand Strength Scores. Shineway’s profits, for example, suffered steep declines at more than 50%.

The departure of these formerly Best China Brands leaves Yunnan Baiyo as the only pharmaceutical company in the top 50 and Mengniu as the only food sector brand. Both of these brands saw their positions shift on the list with Mengniu moving from #38 in 2011 to #41 in 2012 and Yunnan Baiyo shifting from #27 to #28.

Banks dominate the Top 10 again, with Agricultural Bank coming in as a strong new entry. Thanks to the large state-owned bank going public in 2010, examination of its financials is now possible.

Banking as a whole maintained higher income and profit growth than other industries, with 12 bank brands in the top 50. Bank of Beijing, however, exited the list this year. The brand saw healthy growth, but other brands on the list outperformed it.

Also new to the list this year are leaders in the alcohol sector, Yanghe Blue Classic at #24 and Xinghuacun Fenjiu at #46. Seven of the top 50 brands are alcohol companies.

Another newcomer is Xtep at #45. With a diversified product offering, celebrity endorsements and varied positioning, Xtep brings the total sporting goods brands on the list to five. Overall it was a challenging year for sporting goods brands, though. Li Ning saw a 41% decline in brand value and dropped ten spots on the list, from #29 in 2011 to #39 in 2012.

Insurance and securities brands took big hits this year. Insurance brand Taiping, for example, saw a 29% decrease in brand value and dropped from the #28 spot in 2011 to #34 in 2012. China Merchant Securities saw a 27% decline in brand value and dropped eight spots from #30 to #38.

The tech sector held steady with China Mobile in the top spot and internet services brand Tencent remaining in the top 10. Well-known electronics company Haier moved up four spots, enjoying a 25% increase in brand value. Internet services brand Ctrip, however, suffered a six spot loss with a decrease in brand value of 27%.

With fierce competition between top brands, safety scandals and a slowing economy, it was a difficult year for many brands. What made the difference for brands that succeeded this year was staying nimble, responsiveness to market changes and continuous innovation.

Amy Edel-Vaughn is Interbrand's Community Manager.

Polls opened at 8am CST in México this morning, beginning a 12-hour historic vote across the nation for the office of president, legislative seats and governors. Looking at these dramatic races, Interbrand México undertook an unprecedented analysis of the candidates, asking, “If the candidates were brands, how strong would they be?”

Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) ruled in Mexico for 71 years before being ousted in 2000 with Vincente Fox’s win. Fox, of Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), inaugurated a 12-year rule for PAN. Presidents in México may only serve a single six-year term, and in 2006 Felipe Calderón of PAN won the seat. PAN’s reign may come to an end today though, as Enrique Peña Nieto of PRI leads in the polls, and gains for PRI in the legislation are also predicted.

Working with México’s leading political market research firm, Consulta Mitofsky, Interbrand examined each candidate using its proprietary Brand Strength Analysis. Six pillars measure brand perception: authenticity, relevance, understanding, consistency, presence and differentiation.

Enrique Peña Nieto is a charismatic former governor, emerging as a front-runner in the presidential election going into today’s vote. Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a former México City mayor and was in the lead in the polls for the presidential race in 2006, losing by half a point to Calderón. Obrador, of the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) is in second place in the polls. Coming in third in the polls going into today’s election is Josefina Vázquez Mota, a businesswoman with PAN.

Will the candidate representing the party ousted 12 years ago after seven decades of control win? Will there be a surprise and the winner will be the former mayor who nearly won in 2006 and led controversial street protests after his defeat, protesting the election results, and now is raising the issue of fraud again in 2012 before the vote? Will México see its first female president, retaining control for PAN?

Up for grabs as well are 128 seats in the Cámara de Senadores and 500 seats in the Cámara de Diputados. Also six states are holding gubernatorial races. PRI candidates appear to lead in the polls in these races as well, possibly creating an historic return of the party nationwide.

Interbrand’s analysis of each candidate, unlike traditional reviews of campaigns, examined each as it does traditional brands. As results are in, it will be interesting to see if the candidates with the greatest brand strength dominate today’s elections.

Amy Edel-Vaughn is Interbrand’s Community Manager.

(Note: Interbrand México's report is in Spanish.) 

Spirit Airlines is in the news for having made a tough decision. Deciding if it was the right call is based on how you do the math.

The case in brief: 76-year-old cancer patient and Vietnam vet Jerry Meekins buys a plane ticket to visit his daughter. Before the flight his doctor advises him that his cancer is terminal and that he’s not well enough to fly. Jerry requests a refund. Spirit says no.

The CEO, Ben Baldanza defended the decision to Fox News, reminding us that Jerry didn’t buy the offered flight insurance. Baldanza noted, "had we done that (refund the money), I think it really would've been cheating all the people who actually bought the insurance... and I think that's fundamentally unfair."

Whether you like the message or not, it’s a moment of leadership: a CEO publicly and personally backing his decision. It’s bold, but is it smart?

Baldanza clearly knows what he’s doing. The company’s stock has doubled since going public in May 2010 and first quarter profits are triple what they were last year, with a revenue mix weighted heavily toward ancillary services. The airline business does not produce many winners – it has lost $60 billion in operations since deregulating in 1978.

Yet despite the odds, Spirit is innovating the business model and growing profits. Why?

Because they are clear and committed.

All strong brands are strong on the inside, clear about where they are going and are committed to getting there. In his way, Baldanza is the ultimate brand champion. He’s totally clear. It’s not about getting better (Delta) or delighting you (JetBlue) or championing the customer (Southwest), it’s all about the money. When asked about a nuance in his business strategy, he replied in the Fox article, “our strategy is simpler than that. Our strategy is to make money.”

And he’s totally committed to it. He didn’t refund the money. He also called Spirit’s industry-leading customer complaint figure an “irrelevant statistic” and in 2007 accidentally responded directly to a passenger’s email complaint, writing, “let him tell the world how bad we are. He’s never flown before with us anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.”

Totally clear. Fully committed

Which brings us to the Meekins case. It’s obviously a wrenching human interest story. But was it a tough decision for Spirit to make? We don’t know for sure, but here’s where the brand value creation equation can help.

Brands create value when they compel customers to choose the brand over competitors, pay more for the privilege and tell their friends to do the same.

In this case, there are two value drivers. First is the clear and consistent promise of a price-fighting, get-what-you-pay-for airline. If Spirit monkeys with this promise, they risk eroding future revenue.

Secondly, there is the cost associated with this story – the Boycott Spirit Airlines Facebook page, the fact that you are reading this article. This is real money. Someone, probably more than one, will buy their next ticket from one of Spirit’s competitors because they don’t agree with Spirit’s value system.

In its decision, Spirit is calculating that the future value of clear and consistent brand promise is greater than the cost of the reputational damage from the current flap.

This story is not about a $197 refund. It’s about the calculus of long-term brand value. Spirit’s calculation concludes that the story will never get big enough to depress revenues in an amount greater than the value of maintaining a consistent promise. They are probably not wrong. Time will tell. But there is one thing we know for sure: don’t expect a refund.

Josh Feldmeth is the CEO of Interbrand New York.

The month of February marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth. In honour of this momentous event, Interbrand worked in conjunction with the BBC in an exclusive piece of research to quantify how much Dickens contributes to the UK economy annually.

And so what is Dickens worth? Drumroll please… £280 million annually, which is around £765 thousand per day! Unbelievable you say? Well let’s think about it. His characters have become some of the most memorable in literature: Fagin, Oliver, Nancy, Pip and Ebenezer Scrooge just to name a few. The number of adaptations in film, theatre and TV are countless.

And so what is driving this figure? Rita Clifton, chairman of Interbrand London, comments on the power of the Dickens brand saying “it keeps on generating sustainable value and sustainable wealth, which is the test of a strong brand.”

The strength of the brand has been driven by two things – authenticity and relevance.

In terms of authenticity, his writings are quintessentially English. They provide audiences with a look into the heritage of Britain, which conjures up a sense of nostalgia for times past. The Dickens brand has also remained relevant throughout generations. The themes in his writings range from tales of poverty and social injustice to stories of love, cruelty, redemption and courage. These themes are timeless and universal, which is why they still ring true today.

The substantial figure illustrates the longevity and ultimately the strength of the Dickens brand. One can’t help but wonder if Dickens is still making a profit 200 years after his birth, what does the future hold for the great writers of today like J.K. Rowling? We’ll have to wait and see…

Caitlin Collins (Analyst, Interbrand London)