Dubai, UAE: Monday 18 January 2016: Household name Almarai has been ranked the most positively perceived brand in Saudi Arabia according to the 2015 BestBrand Rankings launched today by global market research company, YouGov.

The BestBrand Rankings are compiled using YouGov's flagship daily brand tracker BrandIndex which tracks over 400 brands in Saudi Arabia, and is the first and only daily measure of brand perception among the public in the Kingdom. Using BrandIndex's Buzz score, which is calculated by asking consumers daily if they have 'heard anything positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word-of-mouth' the Rankings portray the top 10 brands with the highest average Buzz scores over the past 12 months.

View the 2015 BestBrand Rankings in Saudi Arabia


Following a range of activity in 2015, the mega food and beverage producer has climbed an impressive five ranks since the end of 2014 to take the Buzz crown from Samsung. Almarai notably won consumer attention last summer with the launch of its Ramadan wellness campaign which had a record 9 million views on YouTube.

After a three year reign at the top, Samsung now sits in second place followed by Apple, a non-mover in third. Al Baik gained a place on last year and now settles in fourth. WhatsApp and iPhone won sufficient share of voice to make their debut entrance into the Rankings in fifth and sixth place respectively, pushing Visa down three places to seventh.

Reports of a 60% year-on-year increase in the number of hours spent watching its videos, together with a re-designed mobile app, see YouTube make a pronounced entry into the 2015 Rankings in eighth. It is also the only brand to debut in the top 10 in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt simultaneously, demonstrating consumers' increased engagement with video across the Arab world.

Google spirals seven places losing positive share of voice amongst consumers bringing it into ninth place. Rounding up 2015's top 10 in the Kingdom is Galaxy securing the final rank after slipping three places since this time last year.

Kailash Nagdev, Managing Director for YouGov in the MENA region commented, "It's interesting to note that Almarai broke engagement records on all of its social media platforms in 2015 with its wellness campaign during Ramadan and it is now the most positively perceived brand in the Kingdom. The Rankings clearly demonstrate the ability of digital brands to positively engage consumers, but the brands that are effectively utilizing those digital platforms are also gaining high levels of positive Buzz. 2016 could be the year of innovative campaigns as more brands look to engage customers with social media."

-Ends-

BrandIndex Buzz is measured by asking respondents daily if they have 'heard anything positive or negative about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word-of-mouth'. Respondents are interviewed from YouGov's online panel.

Buzz scores are based on a two week rolling average ranging from 100 to -100, and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback. They measure recent brand sentiment and indicate the level and direction of recent awareness (positive or negative) about a brand.

The Buzz Rankings show the brands with the highest average Buzz scores between January and December 2015. All Buzz scores have been rounded to a single decimal place.

For media enquires please contact: Antonia Stockwell | +44 7876 899 727 | antonia.stockwell@yougov.com

© Press Release 2016