Apple, Louis Vuitton make UAE's top 10 for brand intimacy

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jan 27, 2017

The UAE Brand Intimacy 2017 report has revealed shoppers in the Emirates connect the strongest with Apple, the second year in a row the tech brand has claimed top spot.

According to MBLM’s second report, Apple was rated number one for brand emotional connectivity, followed by car brands BMW and Ford.

The top 10 was rounded out by Lexus, Audi, Google, Mercedes, Louis Vuitton, Hilton and Nescafé.

According to the 2017 study, automotive and technology brands are consistently in the top two categories across gender, age and income.

Louis Vuitton was surprisingly the only fashion and accessories brand to make the top ten cut, despite the Emirates penchant for luxury goods.

The report revealed that premium brands are not building emotional connections with their consumers in the UAE, except with women and those under 35.

However, brands in media, entertainment, technology and telecommunications show strong customer intimacy, especially with millennials. 

“Leveraging the new science of these emotional bonds gives us a new framework to navigate the opportunities – and pitfalls – of the UAE marketing landscape," ​said William Shintani, partner at MBLM.

"What we know from the latest neurological research is that decisions are emotional – not logical,” said Jae Hwang, partner at MBLM. “We also know that brands using this knowledge to their advantage have an impressive track record.”

Globally, this year’s Brand Intimacy Report analysed responses of 6,000 consumers and 54,000 brand evaluations across 15 industries in the US, Mexico and UAE.