Red Horse Among the Top 30 Most Powerful Southeast Asian Brands, according to new Kantar BrandZ ranking

San Miguel Brewery’s Red Horse ranked among the most powerful brands in Southeast Asia according to the inaugural Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Southeast Asian Brands report. The Top 30 – covering Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore – covers brands from categories such as alcoholic beverages, telecommunications, banks, technology, retailers and travel services. 

Together, Financial Services and Telecom Providers contribute two-thirds of all the brands in the region with Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia (BCA) emerging as the most powerful brand.  The next most represented category is Telecom Providers, with nine brands making the list followed by Retail and Travel Services.

Red Horse is the only Philippine brand to crack the top 30 list thereby making it the top beer brand in the Philippines.  

High demand power. Through creating powerful connections with local consumers, Southeast Asian brands have the highest Demand Power, compared with other markets with a Kantar BrandZ ranking. Demand Power is a Kantar BrandZ measure of a brand’s ability to drive consumers’ predisposition to buy.

Katie McClintock, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, Kantar, says, “Our region’s leading brands have good reason to celebrate. They contribute significant value to the companies behind them, by connecting with consumers and adapting to their changing needs. In such a fast-changing, diverse, and rapidly growing region, brands need to be agile – and the Top 30 are masters of remaining relevant. There is huge potential for significant further growth if they can extend their local strengths into other Asian and even global markets.” 

In the Philippines, top brands deliver brand purpose effectively, resulting to a deeply-rooted trust and emotional bond with consumers.

Soumya Saklani, Managing Director, Philippines, Kantar, comments, “Besides the traditional trust established by years of proven expertise, it is increasingly important for Philippine brands to enable change and improve our world in ways that consumers care about.  Moreover, as we emerge from the pandemic, newly acquired daily habits are here to stay.Thus, it is important for brands to fit into today’s consumers’ daily lives.  Lastly, amid shrinking discretionary budgets in a challenging economic landscape, consumers will remain willing to pay for brands which can lead the way in anticipating and meeting the needs of consumers.”

Other trends from the Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable Southeast Asian brands analysis include:

Southeast Asia’s brands are the second most trusted in the world. The most deeply trusted brands grow with pace and consistency, especially in uncertain times. Indomie (No.15)  leads the field in the Top 30, generating trust through offering familiar tastes that have been loved for generations. 

Relevance builds demand. The brands that consumers perceive as ‘fitting well into everyday life’ have almost double the Demand Power of their least relevant peers. Malaysia’s Grab platform (No.19) is seen as most relevant. The brand offers a comprehensive range of services that make it the go-to choice for daily needs – including GrabCar, GrabFood, and the GrabExpress courier service.

Sustainability is a value driver. Consumers expect businesses to play a leading role in tackling environmental and social issues and helping them to make sustainable choices. Few brands in Southeast Asia are perceived as having outstanding sustainability credentials, meaning there is a strong first-mover advantage to be won.

The inaugural Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Southeast Asian Brands ranking, report and extensive analysis are available now at http://www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/southeast-asia