• by Tanya Gazdik , February 20, 2020

Four automotive brands — Ford, Jeep, BMW and Chevrolet — are in the top 10 in the newest version of a study of how consumers connect emotionally to brands. 

Amazon ranked number one for the first time in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2020 Study, now in its 10^th year.Disney and Apple placed second and third in the study. Apple represented the only technology and telecommunications brand. The remaining brands in the top 10 were: Netflix, Walmart and PlayStation. 

Brand intimacy is defined as the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love. Top brands significantly outperform the top brands in the Fortune 500 and S&P indices in both revenue and profit over the past 10 years, according to the newest study.

Amazon has risen continually in rankings over the past few years, says Mario Natarelli, managing partner at MBLM.

“The brand heavily invests in creating a robust set of products and services and successfully connects with consumers across a wide range of demographics,” Natarelli tells Marketing Daily. “We also see that gaming brands like PlayStation dominate with millennials and Xbox with Gen Z users, which is a strong indicator of future success for the brands.”

The top three brands for women were Disney, Amazon and Apple.  Ford, Amazon and Apple were the top brands for men. Women had slightly higher rates of Brand Intimacy compared to men.

Millennials selected PlayStation as their #1 brand, while Gen Z ranked Xbox first. Those making between $35,000-$100,000 chose Disney, Amazon and Apple as their most intimate brands, while those making over $100,000 ranked Apple, Amazon and BMW as their top three.

Marketers can take advantage of strategies that focus on nurturing the bonds that their brands are forming with customers, Natarelli says.

“The stronger the brand intimacy, the more consumers are willing to pay, and the less they are willing to live without the brand,” he says.