The most successful brands of 2021 revealed

A new study from Yorkshire based digital marketing specialist, Fishtank Agency, has identified the top ten most successful brands in 2021, with Amazon taking the top spot.

The digital team developed a Brand Perception Index, ranking the most valuable brands worldwide on different factors including press sentiment³, search visibility⁴, social following⁵, as well as the number of ‘excellent’ Trust Pilot reviews⁶ to find the most successful overall.

According to the Brand Perception Index, the top ten most successful brands of 2021 were:

Amazon (valued at $149.25bn)
Nike (valued at $42.54bn)
Instagram (valued at $32.01bn)
Disney (valued at $44.18bn)
Mercedez Benz (valued at $50.87bn)
Facebook (valued at $36.25bn)
Google (valued at $196.81bn)
Apple (valued at $408.25bn)
Toyota (valued at $54.1bn)
Mcdonalds (valued at $45.87bn)

Although listed as the second most valuable brand worldwide, Amazon takes the crown for the most successful brand when it comes to brand perception. Amazon takes the top spot, ranking in the top three brands for metrics including positive press sentiment (28%), ‘excellent’ company reviews (31%), and search volume rankings (24.9m) - even with recent backlash surrounding a new multi-million headquarter and its air cargo project and the effect on air pollution. However, the brand wasn’t the most popular on social media, with a ranking of only 14 out of 20 in this area (36.8m).

Nike was named the second most successful brand according to Fishtanks Brand Perception Index, with a clear-cut brand identity as a sportswear brand. Nike is a master in storytelling and with its founders being athletes, the brand can tell authentic stories that its target audience can relate to, resulting in a monthly search volume of over 1.8 million and a huge social following online (240m). However, Nike wasn’t the brand with the most social followers. It was in fact, Instagram, which has over 560.7 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Surprisingly, with the highest brand value in the top ten, Apple came in at only eight in the new index, with a lower social following (48.4m) and ‘excellent’ Trustpilot reviews (18%) than most brands. However, they did rank higher overall than competitor tech brands Samsung (12) and Microsoft (17).

Interestingly, even though Coca Cola is perhaps one of the most recognisable brands of all time, it didn't make it into the index and just missed out, ranking in eleventh place.

Joe Savery, head of design said: "Your logo is not your brand, your brand is the perception of who your company is and what you do. The brands that have made it into our top ten have carefully built a deep connection internally and externally with their customers.

“In order to build a strong and successful brand, we recommend perfecting brand identity, values, and storytelling to build trust and loyalty. Consumers are smart and will spot if you aren’t fully invested in your values or have a real story to resonate with. A great example would be Disney. Disney stands for creating magical experiences for families, and they embody this belief perfectly in all areas, which is why they feature in the top ten successful brands.”