Dubai: Samsung has snagged the first spot in the UAE’s Best Brand for 2014, beating home-grown name Emirates Airlines and internet powerhouse Google, a new survey found.
According to YouGov’s Annual BrandIndex Buzz Rankings, which monitors more than 400 brands across different sectors in the country, the international electronics giant created more brand noise than anybody else last year, thanks to the launch of several products in the emirates, including Galaxy Note 4, which features Arabic Writing Recognition.
“That, together with Samsung Experience Zones in Deira and Abu Dhabi and a ‘super-selfie’ billboard campaign showcasing the public’s Samsung selfies down Sheikh Zayed Road, no doubt helped to create positive noise among consumers throughout the year,” YouGov said in a report on Sunday.
The index is based on the responses of 150 individuals who were asked if they had heard anything positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks through advertising, news or word of mouth. It serves as a measure of recent brand sentiment and indicates the level and direction of recent awareness about a brand.
Samsung earned 52.3 points, followed by Emirates (52.2) in the second place and Google (50.8) in the third spot.
Another global heavyweight, Apple, emerged in the fourth spot, with 41.0 points, followed by French brand Carrefour (39.4) which operates a number of hyper and express markets around the country.
Facebook is the sixth most popular brand (38.8), followed by iPhone in the 7th place (38.6). iPhone’s popularity in the UAE climbed three places from the previous year’s ranking following the much anticipated release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. iPhone’s latest units were well received when they hit the UAE market, flying off the shelves in just two hours at Emax Electronics.
Coming on the 8th place is another home-grown brand Dubai Mall, followed by followed by Almarai in the 9th place and Emaar in the 10th.
UAE 2014 top 10 Annual BrandIndex Buzz Rankings
1. Samsung
2. Emirates
3. Google
4 .Apple
5. Carrefour
6. Facebook
7. iPhone
8. Dubai Mall
9. Almarai
10. Emaar
