Insights
When we looked at the highest performers, we observed five ways they are continually reinventing themselves.
Inner Peace
Brands that helped tame the chaos and confusion of the last year soared in relevance. People wanted to find comfort in their lives–even if they could only do that in tiny slices. As self-care took on new meanings, companies that helped consumers organize closets, up their sourdough game or find the perfect family couch meant more than ever. Now that consumers have newly-defined ways to find moments of relief and joy, it’s likely this trend will continue.
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When so many found creativity in the kitchen, this pragmatic powerhouse provided machines–and yummy digital content–to turn customers into domestic gods and goddesses.
In a “year of homecoming,” this brand helped Americans turn kitchens into classrooms and patios to playgrounds. Home is where the heart is, and IKEA helped people rediscover that love.
Community Comes Home
Smart brands have long built communities, but the pandemic is fueling a fierce desire for connection. It is a turning point: Brands are no longer just something people connect with or about. They are something to connect through. The highest-performers pushed their “brand as a platform” strategies into overdrive, often turning physical experiences into virtual. Through these brands, people found each other.
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When gyms and fitness studios shut down, even casual exercisers felt lost. Peloton came swooping in, nearly doubling its sales, while at the same time creating communities like #blackgirlmagic and #pelotondads that connected like-minded fitness enthusiasts.
So much time at home is sparking a greater love for gaming, and Xbox shot up 36 places. Users love how it connects the world’s gamers, building them new bridges and ecosystems.
Free to Play
Brands that poured on happiness stood out like rays of sunshine. From TikTok dance-offs to Hulu binges to good-natured fun and easy escapism became as essential to consumers as hand sanitizer. Even though people could mostly only dream about vacations, hospitality and airline brands still rose in relevance.
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Navigating Zoom preschool is hard. But this brand is a trustworthy companion, making it easy for parents to bring feel-good fun and quality educational experiences into their homes.
The top brand for “makes me happy” and “connects with me emotionally,” Pixar lands in people’s hearts. Launching new films like Onward and Soul during the pandemic, it offered fresh content, bringing smiles to fans young and old.
From the Source
With so much happening so fast in the past year, people wanted information quickly. At the same time, they’ve become keenly aware of the high price of misinformation. Sources once considered completely reliable suddenly seem less so. When they can do so credibly, brands are stepping in to fill the gaps. They are becoming truth-tellers people can count on.
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Acting to fill a public health void, this brand leaps into our Index because of its COVID-19 dashboard. That devotion to data earns a high score for “values that align with my own.”
Dependable and inspiring, people say they trust NPR more than any other media brand. And it’s extending its reach with its NPR One app and an expanded library of podcasts.
Making It Count
As they mull over questions about everything from privilege to the planet, from social justice to public health, people have redefined what they expect from companies. Sick of empty words, they want brands to genuinely live up to their promises. Encouraged by Black Lives Matter, they are demanding evidence of diversity. Suddenly more hip to green-washing, pink-washing and woke-washing, they reward companies trying to do better.
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As most grocers struggle with shopper bedlam, Costco radiates relevance. It earns high marks for trustworthiness and living up to promises, keeping shoppers safe and well supplied.
With its steadfast protection of the planet, Patagonia soared more than 100 places. It keeps earning trust by following through on its environmental commitments.
Fisher-Price remains relevant because we are constantly innovating our toys to tie to cultural trends, continuously working to be the trusted partner to parents and always remembering that toys serve the purpose of bringing joy and fun to both children and the grown-ups in their lives.”
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