• by Aaron Baar , February 10, 2015

Editor's note: This week, Marketing Daily brings you exclusive coverage of the Brand Keys 2015 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI). Each day, expect a report on key product/services categories from among the 64 surveyed for this year’s study, including automotive, electronics, retail, technology and alcoholic beverages (beer and vodka). This second installment provides highlights from the consumer electronics, telecommunications and entertainment categories.

When it comes to electronics and telecommunications, the category leaders are also the ones making the biggest emotional connections with consumers, at least according to the latest Consumer Loyalty Engagement Index from Brand Keys. 

Not that such findings should be surprising, given the emotional nature of high-value purchases, says Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff. If every purchase were based solely on price, the cheapest products would lead the categories, he notes. 

“We know the loyalty and engagement metrics correlate with [purchase] behavior,” Passikoff says. “So generally you’re pretty safe looking at the category leaders.”

Thus, this year’s Brand Index offers few surprises in the telecommunications, electronics and entertainment sectors. The ones you’d expect to be at the top, are, in fact, there. Netflix tops video streaming; Google is number one in search; Apple leads laptop computers, tablets and smartphones, while Samsung leads flat-screen TVs (and holds second in printers, smartphones, tablets and laptops). Facebook leads social media, while its WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger properties are one and three, respectively, for instant messaging. 

“Facebook is cemented in place now until the category shifts in some way,” Passikoff says. 

Even the wireless companies have remained steady, with AT&T topping the list, followed by Verizon and T-Mobile. Sprint, Passikoff notes, has been having trouble making an emotional connection with consumers. 

“It’s interesting that no matter what these guys do, they can’t grow,” Passikoff says. “I think part of that is because they’re making very [literal] messages.”

Here are the top performers among telecommunications, entertainment and consumer electronics in the 2015 Consumer Loyalty Engagement Index. (A full list can be had at Brand Keys’ website.)

Digital and Social

Instant Messaging

1. WhatsApp
2. Twitter
3. Facebook Messenger

Social Networking

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. YouTube

Online Music

1. Pandora
2. Spotify
3. iHeartRadio

Online Video Streaming

1. Netflix
2. Amazon
3. iTunes

Search

1. Google
2. Bing
3. Yahoo

Electronics

Computers (Laptops)

1. Apple 
2. Samsung
3. Microsoft Surface

E-Readers

1. Kindle
2. iPad
3. Nook

Flat Screen TVs

1. Samsung
2. Panasonic
3. Sony

Headphones

1. Beats
2. Bose
3. Sony

Major League Video Gaming

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. FIFA 15

Tablets

1. Apple 
2. Samsung
3. Amazon

Sports & Entertainment

Evening News

1. NBC
2. ABC
3. CBS

Major League Sports

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. NBA
4. NHL

Major League Video Gaming

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. FIFA 15

Morning News

1. Good Morning America (ABC)
2. Today (NBC)
3. Fox & Friends (FOX)

Online Music

1. Pandora
2. Spotify
3. iHeartRadio

Online Video Streaming

1. Netflix
2. Amazon
3. iTuness

Telecommunications

Headphones

1. Beats
2. Bose
3. Sony

Smartphones

1. Apple 
2. Samsung
3. Lenovo

Wireless Phone Service

1. AT&T
2. Verizon
3. T-Mobile