The Best Brands in the United States

Best Brands in the Land
Happy Halloween! In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, I present to you my list of the top ten brands in the United States. To create this list, I relied heavily upon my opinion of the general perception of each brand versus its competitors, and how much of a premium the brand can charge because of that perception. I didn't get hung up on revenue data or market share numbers — I just went with what I see and hear every day and threw in my own opinion from a marketer's point of view.

Here's my list, starting with the best brand in the land:
  1. Victoria's Secret — The brand became a household name by charging a premium for products that very few people see when worn; and then turned that brand equity into a complete line of clothing.

  2. Google — Do you use any other search engine? I'll bet you've even used the word "Google" as a verb.

  3. Apple — The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone have defined their categories.

  4. Facebook — The dominant social network in the US. They even made a movie about it -- Google, Microsoft, and Apple can't say that.

  5. McDonald's — The king of consistency in quick service restaurants. The way the company can scale its efforts across thousands of restaurants always amaze me.

  6. Ebay — If you were going to buy or sell a used product online, would you go anywhere else?

  7. Coca Cola — Yes, there's Pepsi, but if you order a cola in a restaurant, what are you most likely to ask for?

  8. Harry Potter — After seven best-selling books and a soon-to-be-released seventh blockbuster movie, there's now a theme park in Orlando.

  9. Tide — In a market flooded with competitors of all shapes and sizes, and despite the Great Recession, Tide maintains a market share of more than 40%.

  10. Breast Cancer Awareness — This cause has been able to own the color pink as a way to spread its message. Other causes have tried to rally around other colors, but they haven't been nearly as successful as breast cancer awareness has been with the color pink.
Add This To Your To-Do List
What did I forget? Where am I wrong? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

There's never a lack of ideas

Comments

  1. KellyNovember 01, 2010

    Interesting list! Did you see the Facebook movie yet?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lil KruNovember 02, 2010

    I think you forgot Starbucks! :) Otherwise, I think it's a pretty comprehensive list. I wouldn't have put Victoria's Secret at the top of my list, though, as I happen to be anti-VS. Wonder why you put it at the top of yours? hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JessicaNovember 03, 2010

    Coca-Cola is my personal favorite. I've never heard anyone order a "Rum & Pepsi," and I hope I never do.

    Also, I agree that McDonald's is impressive. They stay strong, despite the fact that every time someone attacks the fast-food industry as a whole, McDonald's always seems to be the main target.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nick SNovember 08, 2010

    I haven't seen the Facebook movie yet, but I definitely want to!

    I forgot about Starbucks... probably because I'm not a coffee drinker. I'll certainly have to consider them for next year's list.

    While I must admit that Victoria's Secret ads are nice to look at, that's not why I put them at the top of the list. :-) VS took a product that was completely mundane and created a huge demand for it spicing it up with product differentiation and a killer brand identity. Then, they took that brand equity they had built from underwear and turned it into a complete clothing line. I equate it to the marketing of bottled water — it's just water, but with a little packaging, suddenly there's a huge market for it. Only in Victoria's Secret case, there's not much competition. They dominate the market.

    And I don't ever expect to hear someone ask for a rum and Pepsi. That's just weird!

    Thank you all for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete

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