• by Tanya Gazdik , March 6, 2022

Carter’s ranks first, while Trader Joe’s moved down to the second top spot of the list of brands most positively talked about in offline conversations, according to Engagement Labs. 

American Family Insurance and Great Value, a Walmart brand, also switched places for the top positions for the most loved brands in online talk in the fifth annual ranking of America’s “most loved” brands.

The four brands finished ahead of more than 650 brands across all consumer categories.

This year’s winners have in common the “vital consumer emotional connection,” says Steven Brown, president of Engagement Labs.

Brand marketers have found opportunities to connect even during the past two years of pandemic, he adds.

Costco’s Kirkland is the only brand to rank among brands both online and offline that shows the importance of marketing strategies that seek to activate both channels in driving business performance, according to the study.

Gillette’s improvement in offline brand love grew the most last year than any other top 10 brand. The brand has weighed in on real-world conversations in social issues, with ads like the one on toxic masculinity resulting in  positive word of mouth.

This study ranks the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations as well as phone, emailing, texting, IM’ing, video chat -- in other words, via any channel other than posting on social media) to determine its annual TotalSocial Brand Awards winners.

Online and offline discussions are two entirely different conversations, generally unrelated to each other, per research. Both types of conversations have an impact that leads to sales, but they do so very differently, and they require different marketing strategies. 

According to Engagement Labs, 19% of all consumer purchases are driven by these kinds of consumer conversations.

Brands should strive to be successful in achieving more positive conversations, both online and offline, Brown says.

“To achieve this, marketers need to have two separate measurement and marketing strategies, to make sure these separate, but equally important conversations are maximized,” he says.