Carling Black Label overtakes Castle in the Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands Survey

The victors of the Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands survey have historically come in two forms: the leader of the Grand Prix questions and the frontrunner of each of the industry categories.

The Grand Prix questions are solo, spontaneous questions like "What is your favourite brand?" or "Who has done the most to uplift the community?" The category winners are awarded based on a composite metric called the Brand Relationship Score© (BRS) which is an assemblage of three factors: spontaneous awareness, level of trust and confidence and commitment.

One of the defining trends of the Top Brands survey is stability, which is also seen as a distinguishing feature amongst global heavyweight longitudinal brand studies. The category winner is rarely usurped and when there are positive shifts in BRS, they are as a result of seriously rigorous and sustained brand management. And this is no small feat, due to the multifaceted nature of brand management. It's a constant juggling act between increasing brand salience, remaining relevant and ensuring that delivery is congruent with the marketing promises made. It's fundamentally an enterprise-wide success story when positive shifts occur.

Within the overall favourite brand category, two high risers exist, but with an interesting dynamic. These brands are inextricably linked with one being a corporate brand – SAB – and the other being a product brand - Castle. Both of these brands moved up two positions, placing them 2nd and 4th respectively. The quest to understand the influence of corporate brands on product brands and vice versa is still ongoing, however this analogous movement certainly points to a very intimate relationship between these two brand forms.

Within the favourite advertiser category this year, big kudos goes to KFC who changed ranking from seventh in 2006 to fourth position this year. Interbrand's Best Global Brands evaluation shows that internationally KFC has realised a 6% brand value improvement.

In the coolest brand category, Coca-Cola has reasserted itself as South Africa's coolest brand by toppling Nike from the pole position it held last year.

Community upliftment is the final and preeminent Grand Prix award due to the intense need for corporate South Africa to give back to the very stakeholders who have made their brands what they are today – the consumers. The corporate philanthropist who has shown the most significant ranking improvement this year is Pick ‘n Pay, with a movement from sixth to fourth place. Its rival, Shoprite, is also a mover and shaker albeit their ranking change was only one position from tenth to ninth. Retailers are evidently being seen to be increasingly giving back to society.

In the business-to-consumer survey, besides the beer shake-up, tight competition also exists within the medical aid sector with the two giants Discovery Health and Bonitas jockeying for pole position. This year we see another fluctuation in position, with Adrian Gore's Discovery Health this year pipping Bonitas at the post.

In the business-to-business survey, there are a few surprises in the number one spot. Protea Hotels has regained the top ranking in the hotel category which it held in 2005, having slipped to third place in 2006. Southern Sun now moves down to third place, having experienced a decline in awareness levels. In the IT category, Microsoft drops from first to fourth place as a result of decreased awareness levels as well as commitment scores. This has allowed Hewlett Packard to step into the top position.

In the electronic business media category, DSTV has made a substantial leap in its Brand Relationship Score, enabling it to take the lead spot. The top three positions are now filled by television stations, while the remainder is filled by radio stations. And lastly, for the first time in the B2B survey, we have a tie. The two leading brands in the healthcare facilities category, Medi-Clinic and Netcare 911, both achieve Brand Relationship Scores which are more than double that of their nearest competitor, Discovery 911.

The only new category in the Business-to-Business survey is office automation, with the outright winner being Nashua. Nashua holds a considerable lead over Canon and HP. Almost a third of respondents could not mention one brand in this category.

The new category in the Business-to-Consumer space is chocolates which are headed by Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Cadbury's Lunch Bar, Nestle's Bar One and Cadbury's PS fill the subsequent slots, with the margins between the brands in the top ten being small.

The groundwork

For the fourth year in a row, the Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands Survey has included an assessment of brand equity among the top echelon of South Africa's business community (B2B). The industry sectors included in this survey are specifically selected given their usage by predominantly business respondents. The outcomes of this survey provide business, investors and the public with a brand health measurement, based on the opinion of South Africa's top management. The 2007 survey includes thirteen industry categories.

In terms of the business-to-consumer category, for 13 years the Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands Survey has been the only research-based, consumer-driven guide to brand royalty in South Africa. Marketers and brand managers know that this is an accurate reflection of what is happening at the consumer coalface.

The universe consisted of all adults 16 years and older, living in residential homes in South Africa. This survey thus comprised of all races as well as geographical areas, urban as well as rural. A total of 3 479 interviews were conducted in metropolitan areas and 1 479 interviews in non-metropolitan areas. All interviews were conducted on a personal, face-to-face basis, with a minimum of 20% back-check being administered on each of the interviewers' work. Fieldwork took place during May and June of 2007.

The selection procedure ensured that all results could be projected to the universe and are thus representative of the total South African adult population.