Microsoft crowned as No. 1 UK brand
15 Jul 2009
Over 2,000 UK consumers voted for top brands in in the 12th annual 500 Superbrands survey.
A list of about 1,400 brands was considered by a panel of experts, before being put to vote by consumers.
"This year's survey reaffirms some of the downturn's winners and losers, with fast-food chains and supermarkets doing particularly well," said Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of the Centre for Brand Analysis, which carried out the research on behalf of Superbrands UK.
"The results, as always, return some surprises, with this year's notable high rankers being Encyclopaedia Britannica."
Last year's No 2 Microsoft overtook Google at the top relegating the top internet search firm to No 3 position with Rolex coming up to the No 2 position this year.
Broadcaster BBC slipped a notch from No 4 last year to No 5 this year, while European carmaker BMW, ranked at No 6 last year, slipped off this year's top 10 list. Rival Mercedes Benz, however, managed to stay put, slipping to the fifth position from No 3 last year.
Top 10 Superbrands 2009 -10:
1.Microsoft
2.Rolex
3.Google
4.British Airways
5.BBC
6.Mercedes-Benz
7.Coca-Cola
8.Lego
9.Apple
10.Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source: Superbrands UK/The Centre for Brand Analysis
Last year's Top 10:
1.Google
2.Microsoft
3.Mercedes-Benz
4.BBC
5.British Airways
6.Royal Doulton
7.BMW
8.Bosch
9.Nike
10.Sony
Source: Superbrands UK/The Centre for Brand Analysis
Selection procedure
The entire selection process is administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA), whose researchers compile a list of the UK's leading brands, drawing on a wide range of sources from sector reports to blogs.
They compile an initial shortlist of just under 1,400 brands, which are scored by the independent and voluntary 'expert council', whose members individually award each brand a rating from 1-10, , eliminating about 40 per cent of the lowest scoring brands.
The remaining are then voted by a nationally representative sample of more than 2,100 British consumers aged 18 and above on Quality, reliability and distinctiveness of the brand.