Brand Keys: This is the decade of brand

"Our 2009 findings predicted that value, not price, was the watchword in consumer behavior. And you can't have the value conversation without the brand conversation, as true brands provide meaningful differentiation in a world over-run by commodities," noted Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president. "That makes brands a surrogate for value, and more important than ever to consumers in every category. But [it is] real brands that have reached their highest level of consequence since the 1960's."

The 14th annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI) found:

• Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com lead the online books and music category
• Scottrade.com and Options Xpress lead the online brokerage category
• Expedia and Kayak are most likely to engage online travel consumers
• Bing and Google are tied for loyalty in the search engine category

"At a time when brands are struggling to differentiate from their competition and to find ways to profitably engage their customers, the changes this year serve as a bellwether for marketers. It will be the products and services that answer with a truly consumer-centric view. . .that stand to gain the most, and establish themselves as this decade's brand leaders," said Passikoff.

Passikoff went on to say that in the coming years brands whose products are not already known, trusted and segmented, in effect, by consumers will quickly suffer because brand category placeholders are how consumers are even now thinking of specific products.

Tags: brand advertising, brand category, brand experience, brand identity, Brand Keys, brand safety