The Nation's Most Loved Social Brands Revealed Through Consumer Conversations

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand evangelism is the holy grail of brands. Consumers cause their friends and family to buy things when they recommend and talk positively about the brands they love. On average, 19 percent of all consumer purchases are driven by these kinds of consumer conversations, according to Engagement Labs data and analytics published this year in the MIT Sloan Management Review. For the 2018 analysis of more than 500 US consumer brands in a variety of industry sectors, Engagement Labs ranked the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations), on its second annual TotalSocial^® Brand Awards series.

The awards are based on the Company's proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand's marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). Over the next several months, Engagement Labs will announce awards for the highest scoring brands in each TotalSocial category. The Most Loved Award is given to brands with the highest net sentiment scores online and offline in 2018.

For the second year in a row, Disney World, promoted as the "Happiest Place on Earth," tops the list of most loved brands offline and the World's Best Regarded Companies of 2018. Tied at the number one spot is the iconic Pillsbury brand, that "bakes memories" and kitchen stories with its 49th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off and ugly Christmas sweater hit. At the third position, the Royal Caribbean Cruises invested $120 million in revitalizing their ships cater to millennials and improve the customer base experience. The most loved brands offline are those which are spoken about positively during face-to-face conversations.

American Family tops the list of most loved brands being talked about during online conversations. AmFam continues its #DreamFearlessly marketing campaign that goes beyond TV commercials, but in real lives: from high school sports sponsorships, fan vote contests, scholarship programs to regional "Big Dream" gatherings. While, Clean & Clear ranked second for its high sentiment in online conversations by reaching out to Gen Z's through real stories from teenage nanoinfluencer endorsements with their newline product line C&C. Mary Kay, which ranked third for online conversations, incentivizes top sales representatives by awarding Mini Coopers and being one of the best employers for diversity. The brand has been able to create a positive brand experience that consumers are eager to talk about with friends and family, both offline and online.

"Becoming a beloved and enthusiastically recommended brand involves connecting with consumers through purpose-driven storytelling, delivering great experiences, and refreshing the connection through innovative marketing and advertising," said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. "While more than half of the top most loved brands are also the largest advertisers in the nation, companies achieve most loved status in a wide variety of ways."

The beauty and personal care category stood out for high net sentiment online, winning seven of the top 10 spots for positive online conversations, and one of 10 (L'Oréal) for offline conversation. 

Mr. Keller explains, "The beauty and personal care category benefits from its intimate connection to consumers—it's a product you put on your skin, to deliver a healthier, more attractive appearance. Brands that deliver become beloved, generating very positive recommendations."

To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand's word of mouth in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.

To learn more about the TotalSocial Brand Awards, click here.

About Engagement Labs
Engagement Labs EL ELBSF is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company's TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.

To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.

About TotalSocial^®
TotalSocial^® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.

Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Engagement Labs does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For media inquiries please contact:
Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing
Engagement Labs
732-846-6800
vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com

SOURCE Engagement Labs