But Do You Love Me? Study Measures Consumer Emotional Attachment To Rank Top 100 Brands

Research firm APCO Insight’s study ranking the Top 100 Most Loved Companies discovered people are emotionally attached to tech companies, but Mickey Mouse steals everyone’s heart, with The Walt Disney Company winning the No. 1 spot.

Using its proprietary Emotional Linking model, APCO evaluated more than 600 of the world’s largest corporate brands, surveying 70,000 consumers in 15 markets worldwide. The study measured consumer attachment to brands based on the following eight emotions: understanding, approachability, relevance, admiration, curiosity, identification, empowerment and pride.

The study found tech brands outperformed other industries across all emotions, with Yahoo and Google following Disney for the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Interestingly, Yahoo trumped Google on APCO’s list, while Apple showed up in the No. 9 spot, barely making the top 10.

According to the announcement, the “Relevance” factor, an emotion where tech companies regularly scored high, “Equates to people thinking a brand ‘fits’ them well, speaks to them and plays a meaningful role in their lives.”

“In addition to acting as a highly predictive tool for consumers’ purchase choices,” said APCO Insight president Bryan Dumont, “The Emotional Linking model has proven to be an excellent way to help companies retool their campaigns to build stronger emotional attachments between their key audiences and their brands.”