The buzziest brands: Subway, Amazon and History Channel
The companies with the most positive buzz last year include retail brands such as Target, automakers such as Ford and tech giants such as Apple.
YouGov BrandIndex rated the companies by asking survey respondents throughout the year whether they had heard anything about the brands recently through advertising, news or word of mouth.
The most in-the-now businesses, in order:
1. Subway
2. Amazon
3. History Channel
4. Google
5. Cheerios
6. Lowe’s
7. Ford
8. Discovery Channel
9. Target
10. Apple
Top-ranked Subway was the only dining establishment to crack the top 10, with its increasing emphasis on fresh and healthy ingredients and sodium reduction while maintaining its reputation for budget meals.
Amazon landed high because of its Kindle Fire launch and dominance of online retailing. It outpaced ninth-ranked Target, better known this year for its sold-out Missoni collection than its prowess on the Internet.
The History Channel, now known as just “History,” is home to popular reality shows such as “Pawn Stars” and “Larry the Cable Guy.” Meanwhile, competitor Discovery Channel is lagging.
Tech firms were big talking points. Google’s foray into social networking has garnered 60 million members for its Google+ effort. Apple released both the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S, whose Siri software made for hours of amusement. Ongoing speculation about co-founder Steve Jobs’ health, and his subsequent death in October, sparked an outpouring of emotion from fans.
Home improvement chain Lowe’s also made the list, despite impending layoffs and its controversial decision to remove its advertisemnets from a Muslim-American show on TLC. More successful rival Home Depot, which was a major player in Hurricane Irene preparation and cleanup, was a no-show.
Ford, which has reported strong sales for 2011, and Cheerios, which announced new flavors such as Cinnamon Burst and Dulce de Leche, have been in the top 10 for years.
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