• by Tanya Gazdik , July 24, 2017

Band-Aid, Amazon and Google are at the top of YouGov BrandIndex’s mid-year ranking of the 10 healthiest brand in the U.S. 

The annual mid-year list of the healthiest U.S. brands ranks the 10 brands with the biggest perception gains since one year ago, the top 10 brands with the best ad awareness and the 10 that gained the most ad awareness. The company crunches data on more than 1,500 brands. 

The top brands all have in common that the companies use innovation to inspire products that people really need or find they need without realizing it, or are simply vital and useful, says YouGov BrandIndex CEO Ted Marzilli.

“Amazon built up its Prime service, not just in streaming video but music and other perks as well, while debuting its surprising hit Echo family of products,” Marzilli tells Marketing Daily. “Like Amazon, Google is constantly striving to be best in class, with updates and new capabilities in Maps, Gmail, Search and YouTube.”

Rounding out the top 10 are Craftsman, Dawn, YouTube, Clorox, M&M’s, Lowe’s and Quaker.

Johnson & Johnson fell out of the top 10 this year, from number 6 to number 11. Quaker replaced it in the Top 10.

“Johnson & Johnson hit a nine-year perception low this past May after a fourth lawsuit involving talcum powder and ovarian cancer was ordered to trial,” Marzilli says. “Quaker Oats is riding a wave of more Americans being health-conscious by creating more on-the-go breakfast packages. For Quaker, it's being at the right place at the right time, while creating many options to buy their products.”

Nineteen of the top 20 brands with the highest ad awareness scores were down by statistically significant margins compared to one year ago. The only brand that was not — and was up by a significant margin — was Sprint.

Brands that made the biggest ad awareness gains since one year ago are Uber, Blue Apron, Trivago, Dollar Shave Club, Lyft, Hulu, Nintendo, Mattress Firm, Stella Artois and Sprint. Apple and Dish Network fell out of the top 20 even though they continue to have high ad awareness.

The top brands with best ad awareness are Geico, McDonald’s, Verizon, AT&T, Walmart, Subway, DirecTV, T-Mobile, Progressive and Walgreens.

“Innovation and usefulness are rewarded by consumers,” Marzilli says. “None of the companies on this list could ever be considered ‘complacent.’ It's a high, difficult bar to reach, and a lot of luck and serendipity are involved. But there is no question about the payoff when those two elements come together — they are truly worth investing in.”