Middle East megabrand Almarai is the most positively perceived brand in Saudi Arabia, according to the 2016 Mid-Year BestBrand Rankings - released today by global market research company YouGov. The Mid-Year BestBrand Rankings which launched across 26 countries globally, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are compiled using the Buzz score from YouGov's daily flagship brand tracker - BrandIndex. Buzz asks residents daily if they have 'heard anything positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word-of-mouth'. Respondents are interviewed on YouGov's online panel. Almarai has created the highest brand Buzz scores of over 300 brands in Saudi Arabia throughout 2016 so far, and also features in the Egypt Top 10 Mid-Year Rankings in eighth place. This year has brought a tremendous social media presence for the "Quality you can trust" brand whose film on breastfeeding became the second most shared film in the world within one week of launching. Subsequently Almarai also became the third most popular FMCG brand on Facebook. Holding onto second place for two years running is mobile messaging phenomenon WhatsApp. The introduction of end-to-end encryption providing full protection to users' privacy was a welcome comfort to WhatsApp account holders in the Kingdom this year. Samsung meanwhile drops two places in to third since this time last year but has continued to create hype with the launch of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Airlines have made a pronounced entry into the Mid-Year Rankings this year. New domestic flights and exclusive services see Saudia (Saudi Airlines) make its debut appearance in sixth. Emirates now sits in ninth after a three year absence and is also the number one brand in the UAE. Emirates has invested heavily in digital and social assets in 2016 to disclose its in-flight experience to the masses. Apple (fourth), Al Baik (fifth) and Google (tenth) are this years' Mid-Year fallers in the Kingdom with Google slipping the most by three places. On the other hand rising up the ranks are YouTube continuing to win favor with consumers up one place in seventh. Meanwhile Toyota jumps from tenth to eighth with new product launches, awards and an exciting partnership announcement with Uber. Looking to the BestBrand Improvers over the past six months, the brand with the biggest increase in Buzz since this time last year is consumer electronics and appliances provider eXtra, who regularly runs a host of product discount offers in the Kingdom. Following closely behind with a string of promotional initiatives is Mobily in second. Increased social media penetration in the Arab world sees Facebook and Snapchat feature in third and fourth place respectively, while Saudia (Saudi Airlines) snaps up fifth. FMCG, telecoms, restaurant and online retail all feature in the final five most improved brands with Zain, NIDO, Souq.com, La Vache Qui Rit and Subway claiming sixth to tenth place. Consumer research director Pranay Dandekar commented, "The positive appeal of brands who are demonstrating their affinity with digital assets is certainly shining through in the Rankings for the first half of 2016. For the example, the ability of social media to connect with consumers in a real time one-to-one and broadcast fashion has the power to create high levels of positive Buzz. The fact that we are also seeing positive sentiment improve for brands such as eXtra and Mobily, who are investing heavily in relevant product offers and promotions, shows how much of an impact they are also making in the minds of consumers in the Kingdom."
