Does your brand need social media and brand fans?

Does your brand need social
media and brand fans?
INTRODUCTION
Using social media and creating a regularly updated brand fan page is not necessarily right for all brands.
Marketers want to understand in advance whether their investments will be justified. This article helps
marketers understand whether fan pages are right for their brand and category.
Brand fans are important because they are generally
Fans and non-fans share of wallet
the most valuable consumers of any brand.
%
Non-Fans
Fans
BrandZ data based on interviews with more than
4
100,000 consumers globally in 2010 – in categories
1
from banks and cars to shampoo and coffee –
62
19
show that bonded consumers are more likely to
67
31
become fans of the brand in social media: liking it on
83
37
100
50
Facebook or following it on Twitter.
Incidence of Fans by levels of relationship of
the BrandZ brand pyramid
%
13.4%
Share of wallet
2.8%
What do these figures mean for marketers like you?
Bonding
11
Advantage
4
Performance
1
Relevance
4
will be able to build a large social media fan base?
Presence
2
This article provides general guidelines on the key
Do you need to make substantial investments in
building social media pages and acquiring as many
fans as possible? How likely is it that your brand
factors to take into account when answering these
questions.
This also means that fans of a brand are more likely
Factors to consider when investing in social
media
to be bonded to it. Because these fans are more
attitudinally loyal to brands, they also spend more on
Factor 1 Country
them.
On average, fans will spend
more than four times as much
of their total category budget
on their favored brand than
non-fans.
Factor 2 Category
Factor 3 Brand Perception
1
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FACTOR 1: COUNTRY
First of all, the number of fans gained by the average
brand in different countries varies significantly.
Our unique FanZ score is
based on the percentage of
relevant category users who
are a social media fan or
follower of any one brand in
that category.
For example, if you are choosing which countries to
use a fan page to support your multinational brand,
we generally see larger relevant fan bases in Korea,
Given current levels of
social media usage, fandom
conversion is particularly
high in Korea, Brazil, and
China; while acquiring a
fan in Hungary seems to be
particularly difficult.
Sweden, USA, and Poland. Currently, in countries
like India, Hungary, and Mexico it is comparatively
more difficult to acquire a large number of social
media fans.
Average number of fans within a category,
ranked by country
11.9
16.6
11.7
10.2
11.5
9.7
9.3
25
9.3
8.6
8.6
8.4
7.4
0.5
2.8
2.0
Average rate of conversion of social media users
into brand fans
20
6.9
5.7
5.6
4.8
4.5
FanZ Score
Korea
Sweden
USA
Poland
Brazil
Australia
Spain
China
UK
Italy
Canada
Germany
Japan
Czech Republic
France
Russia
Thailand
Mexico
Hungary
India
FanZ score
%
Korea
15
10
Brazil
China
Poland
Italy
France
5
Hungary
Much of the variation we see in the FanZ score
0
correlates with levels of internet access and social
0
10
20
30
40
50
Social Media Usage
media use in each country. Beyond this, social media
users are converted into brand fans more easily in
some countries than others. Investments in countries
where the conversion is easier will be most efficient.
2
60
70
80
FACTOR 2: CATEGORY
The category also matters. The categories with
online arena (in social media, forums, blogs, etc.),
the highest average levels of fandom globally are
and brands naturally want to leverage their own
IT software, IT hardware, diapers, communication
communications through discussion.
providers, mobile phones and cars.
In contrast, categories such as motor fuel or
Four out of the top six categories are connected with
detergents are much less popular topics for
technology, which is unsurprising since consumers
discussion (whether offline or online). This is clearly
of these categories are likely to use the web more.
a barrier to generating large numbers of fans in these
Brands in technology-related categories have
categories.
embraced social media to engage with their audience
and provide consumers with the latest brand
The country and category rankings given previously
information.
can be used by your brand as a general guide to
evaluate potential audience scale in social media.
FanZ Score
4-5%
6-7%
8-10%
11-13%
Hair Care
Fast Food
Beers
Insurance
Body Care
Airlines
IT Software &
Gaming
Grocery
Stores
Banking/
Finance
Apparel (men)
Deodorant
Soft Drinks
Mineral Water
Coffee
Oral Care
Spirits
Motor Fuel
Face Care
Detergents
Credit Card
Networks
Ecommerce
Apparel
(women)
Home
Entertainment
Harder to builda fan base
However, it is important to always keep local market
specifics in mind since the categories with the most
fans in a specific country might differ significantly
Diapers
Communications
Providers
from the global picture.
Mobile Phone
For example, the car category in Poland evokes
Handsets
especially high fandom. Nine car brands appear in
IT Hardware &
Peripherals
the top 100 list of Polish sites with the most fans.
Cars
Car Category in Poland
FanZ score
%
Easier to build a fan base
18
Car Category
It is also unsurprising to see diapers in the top list
as this category embraces a very specific type of
Average across
all categories
consumer. Parents are very concerned about their
12
children so look for additional information, connection
and reassurance through social media, and are
Brand
highly willing to discuss brands.
The car category has always been one of the most
Fans
Position
18,801
62
17,150
65
14,346
71
9,944
85
popular subjects for offline discussions in many
8,881
88
countries. With the growth of internet usage, we
6,731
94
have seen a natural transition of discussions to the
6,008
96
5,004
99
4,945
100
3
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FACTOR 3: BRAND PERCEPTION
Brand Value Perception is correlated with fandom.
Brand fandom levels can also vary significantly
Good value brands that are able to justify their
across countries. For example diapers evoke
premium price tend to have the most fans. Since fan
incredibly high fandom in the US relative to the global
pages provide the opportunity to keep in touch with
norm. This is primarily due to the impact of Pampers
brands, it is not surprising that consumers reach out
and Huggies, which have almost 900,000 fans on
more to desirable but attainable brands.
Facebook.
ValueD map showing indexed FanZ scores
by segment
Diaper category in the USA
FanZ score
%
Good Value
11
Average across
all countries
126
High Desire
22
USA
41
Poor Value
Justified Premium
222
86
Expensive
High Price
Brand Personality Perception is another factor that
is also correlated with brand fandom. Brands that
have more fans tend to be perceived as particularly
Pampers
680,550
creative, trustworthy, and desirable.
Huggies
208,258
If your brand already has this kind of personality you
might find it easier to attract fans.
Brand Personality (CharacterZ)
correlation with FanZ score
0.29
Creative
0.24
Trustworthy
Desirable
4
0.23
Wise
0.10
In Control
0.10
CASE STUDIES
Let’s now look at several brand pages with high fandom from the perspective of these three factors: country,
category and brand perception
BlackBerry in Brazil
Facebook is clearly the major global social
networking platform currently; it can even help
brands build fan bases in markets, such as Brazil,
where the popularity of the local leading site Orkut
outstrips that of Facebook. BlackBerry has built a
strong social following in Brazil and has the thirdhighest number of Facebook fans in the country.
The country, category and brand type are well suited
to social media and this growing brand has taken
advantage of this and attracted more than 150,000
fans in Brazil by creating a easy-to-use page with
quality content that is regularly updated.
iPhone in USA
Apple iPhone is one of the most followed brands
in the world. There are hundreds of iPhone-related
pages on Facebook and the “Facebook for iPhone”
app page has more than 77 million active users a
month. The mobile handsets category has a large
number of followers and in the key US market, iPhone
is characterized as a creative brand, which helps to
justify its premium price.
Factor
Apple iPhone
Rating
★★★★★
Country
USA
Category
Mobile phones
handsets
★★★★★
Brand Value
Justifying premium
★★★★★
Brand Personality
Creative
★★★★★
Factor
Mango in Spain
With more than 2.1 million fans on Facebook, the
clothing brand Mango has the second-largest number
of fans in Spain. The brand is seen as “good value”
and described by consumers as sexy, creative, and
desirable. This is reflected in the Mango Facebook
page, which provides information about the brand
and its objectives, shares photos and videos with
fans, informs fans about special events and features
an “Emotions Ranking” app which allows women
to share their mood and find out how other “Mango
women” are feeling.
Factor
Mango
Rating
Country
Spain
★★★★☆
Category
Apparel
★★★★☆
Brand Value
Good value
★★★★☆
Brand Personality
Sexy, Creative,
Desirable
★★★★★
BlackBerry
Rating
Country
Brazil
★★★★★
Category
Mobile phone
handsets
★★★★★
Brand Value
Expensive
★★★☆☆
Brand Personality
Different, creative
★★★★★
McDonald’s in Hungary
Although Facebook offers potential global reach,
your brand may need to consider extending beyond
this to enjoy global social media success. Brands
that want to maximize their global fandom also
need to embrace other local social platforms. For
example, McDonald’s has an exceptionally strong
brand position in Hungary, however, the level of
McDonald’s fandom is very low compared to other
countries.
Factor
McDonald’s
Country
Hungary
Rating
☆☆☆☆☆
Category
Fast Food
★★★☆☆
Brand Value
Good Value
★★★★☆
Brand Personality
All traits low
endorsement
★★★☆☆
5
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FANZ RANKING - LEARN FROM BRANDS
THAT ARE ALREADY SUCCEEDING
By covering the same brands and categories in the
BrandZ research across more than 20 countries
we are able to create a global ranking of the most
followed brands in the world.
Top 20 Brand Fandom Ranking
FanZ score
%
3.8
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.4
3.2
3.1
3.1
3.0
3.0
2.8
2.8
3.6
3.5
2.3
2.2
4.8
1
Fans are very valuable; they have much
stronger brand equity than non-fans. For an
average brand, 62 percent of fans believe it has
advantages over other brands, versus just 19
percent among non-fans. Fans spend four times
Microsoft, Pampers, Apple,
and Apple iPhone are the
clear leaders with FanZ
scores that significantly
outperform both the global
average and the rest of the
Top 20.
Microsoft
Pampers
Apple
iPhone
Nokia
McDonald's
HP
Visa
Sony
Amazon
Heineken
Coca-Cola
EA Games
BMW
Dell
Nike
Starbucks
Samsung
Acer
Toyota
SUMMARY - LESSONS FOR MARKETERS
5.9
8.0
10.5
on the brand they are a fan of compared to nonfans. This is not something we should attribute to
the fan page itself; rather this is due to the brand
relationship which led someone to become a fan
in the first place. The challenge for fan pages is
therefore to deepen and sustain the relationship
among people who are already very positive
about the brand.
2
Levels of fandom vary around the world:
there are more social media brand fans
in Korea, Sweden, the USA and Poland, and
considering the smaller absolute penetration of
social media, a proportionately large number in
Brazil and China.
Global average FanZ Score = 1%
3
Some categories tend to generate more
brand fans, such as technology and also
other categories that have always experienced
more word of mouth communication.
Although IT and telecom brands dominate the list, the
Top 20 ranking also contains brands from many other
categories including cars, fast food, beer and credit
cards.
4
As we would expect, stronger brands
generate more fans, but we also found
that the brands which generate the most fans
tend to have creative, trustworthy, and desirable
personalities. Premium brands that are able to
justify their high price may also find it easier to
build a large fan base.
RESEARCH DETAILS
FURTHER READING
This report was compiled using 2010 BrandZ data – a
For further insight on how brands can use fan pages
total of over 100,000 consumer interviews and over
to build brand equity, read the Millward Brown
8,000 brand cases. These interviews were carried
Knowledge Point: How Should Your Brand Capitalize
out across more than 20 countries with an average of
on Social Media?
more than 18 categories per country.
The FanZ score is based on the percentage of
relevant category users who are a social media fan or
follower of any one brand in that category.
The FanZ question was only asked among social
media users (people who participate in any on-line
social networking groups - e.g. Facebook, MySpace,
Bebo, Twitter or other on-line communities, groups or
blogs).
To enable cross-country comparisons we factored
the data based on web penetration across countries.
For more information about the study, to find out
about the fandom of your brand, or to conduct your
own social media project, please contact:
[email protected], Global
BrandZ Director, Millward Brown, based in UK
[email protected], Global
Brand Director role for Digital, Millward Brown, based
in UK
[email protected], Senior
Account Researcher, Millward Brown, based in UK
BRANDZ™ is the WPP global brand equity study
available to clients and potential clients via WPP
owned companies. It is validated against sales and
quantifies and diagnoses the strengths and
weaknesses of brands.
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