New Report Shows Tiktok, Huda Beauty and Careem Among the Best Loved Brands in the MENA

Marketeers will tell you that the COVID-19 era is probably the hardest time in their careers, as shifting priorities among consumers of content, products and services alike force businesses and brands to rethink their strategies. The brands that are doing the best, according to Talkwalker’s Brand Love 2020 report, are the ones who had already fostered an emotional connection with their customers and fans. Needless to say, this brand love remains strong, even in times of crisis, as the report explains: “In times of boom, brand love is a nice thing to have. It makes your money work harder and encourages consumers to spend more. In a recession, when every dollar counts, it’ll mean the difference between a consumer spending with you, and going elsewhere.”

By monitoring online discussions around 7000 on social media, news sites, blogs, forums and more, Talkwalker’s research discovered the brands that people engaged with, that people criticized less, that people had a joyful connection with, and that people simply said they loved. It’s important to note that this report purposely disregarded the number of mentions any particular brand had, but instead focused on the quality of the conversations around it.

The global report found that among the top 50 loved brands in the world, the majority are in the fashion and beauty industry (18%), followed by food (14%) and hospitality (12%). Interestingly, however, the number one best loved brand in the world fell into none of these categories; Lego tops the charts as nearly 70% of all its online mentions contained a keyword that Talkwalker consider to indicate brand love.

As for the Middle East and Africa, the best loved brands as discovered by the digital market research company are (in no particular order): 

Etihad Airway

Four Seasons

Benefit Cosmetics

Hyatt Hotels

TikTok

Qatar Airways

Huda Beauty

InterContinental 

Careem

HMD Global (Nokia’s mother company).

“They’re loved because they’ve taken what consumers love, and put it at the heart of their business. Building their brand from the consumer outwards - into CSR, marketing, employee engagement. The whole brand,” concludes the report.