Study identifies world's 'Champion' brands, hyper-influential 'stakebroker' consumers

Asia-based brands making the global top 50 list include Canon, Honda, HTC, LG, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toyota. A list of the Top 30 regional brands includes Agricultural Bank of China, Baidu, East Japan Railway, Hero Motors, IndianOil and Tencent.

The Champion Brand Index, conducted by APCO Insight, measured 569 public and private companies against four key dimensions that define a 'Champion' brand, in APCO's estimation: 

• Alignment: Meeting stakeholders’ most important expectations
• Authenticity: Acting in a way that is consistent with what a company says
• Attachment: The extent to which stakeholders connect emotionally with a company
• Advocacy: Advocating on behalf of stakeholders’ interests, applying unique expertise and assets to add value to society

The survey was conducted between June 4 and September 10, 2012. Countries surveyed in Asia were Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and Japan.

The research also identified—and further questioned—a subset of about 9,500 influencers dubbed "stakebrokers", which APCO defines as highly engaged individuals who act and think in a way distinct from traditional influencers. These super-influencers "engage with companies from the perspective of, and with the interests of, all of the different traditional stakeholder groups simultaneously", according to the report authors. 

“Stakebrokers are fully invested in the success of companies, and connecting with stakebrokers is a company’s surest path to becoming a Champion Brand,” said Robert Schooling, president of APCO’s Americas region. “In terms of future-proofing a corporate brand, these are the people—generationally and geographically—to whom the company needs to pay attention.”

APCO highlighted several ways in which these stakebrokers stand out from their peers. Compared with the average consumer, they are, according to the report:

• Seven times more likely to have contacted a government official to express their views about corporate practices, policies or activities.
• Three times as likely to start a conversation with friends, family or colleagues about corporate practices, policies or activities.
• Ten times more likely to belong to a consumer advocacy organisation.
• Six times more likely to have visited corporate websites in the last 30 days to read about companies' practices, policies and activities.
• Ten times more likely to be an active member of a business, trade or commerce group.

Turning to findings regarding the entire surveyed population, APCO reports that:

• A strong majority (62 per cent) care more about companies’ practices and policies now than they did 10 years ago.
• About four in 10 say they have put their money where their mouth is within the last year by deciding not to buy a product because they do not agree with the company's practices or policies.
• A solid majority (60 per cent) believe that companies now serve some societal functions that were previously reserved for governments.
• 81 per cent of those in developed economies and 57 per cent in developing economies agree that “when evaluating companies, it is as important for me to know how the company operates as it is to know what it sells”.