• by Aaron Baar , February 13, 2012

Brands are spending a lot of effort (and money) trying to get consumers to “Like” them on Facebook, but there are only a few brands consumers truly “love.”

According to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by New York-based brand agency CBX, Apple is the brand they “love the most,” followed by Sony, Coca-Cola, Nike and Pepsi/Mountain Dew. The reasons listed for loving those companies ranged from “innovative” (Apple) to “reliable and dependable” (Sony) and “great/good taste” (Coca-Cola).

Rounding out the Top 10 list were: Wal-Mart, Samsung, Chevrolet, Dell and Amazon. Apple was the clear winner among both men and women, although men were more likely to choose Nike and/or Sony as their second and third choices, while women picked Coca-Cola second.

“‘Love,’ in all aspects of life, is about having a deep affection for something or someone. As love gets deeper, you start to develop feelings of trust, comfort and stability for/from that person or brand,” Greg S. Lippman, managing partner of CBX, tells Marketing Daily. “In the case of this survey, I think that all of these brands provide something to people that they believe they cannot get elsewhere. And in most cases, they also get that feeling of trust, comfort and stability from each of these brands.”

Among other demographic breakdowns:

• Consumers 18-24 said they loved Nike, but no one over 55 had similar love for the brand.
• Sony still captured the hearts of 27% of consumers ages 18-24, which led it to the number 2 position.
• 26% of consumers 35-44 loved Coca-Cola more than any other brand.

“There is a difference between like and love,” Lippman says. “There are certain brands that I am passionate about and would definitely say I ‘love,’ that I wouldn't cheat on [Apple]. And there are others that I like, [though] I could be swayed to try a dalliance [Snickers vs. a Milky Way].”