Brand Influence League - August 2007

Flextronics edges out SMRT to claim top spot

Electronics manufacturer Flextronics has trumped SMRT Corporation in recording the highest recorded jump in global stories amongst all companies surveyed under the Brand Influence League to date.

While SMRT recorded a relative month-on-month increase of 2300% for global sources from March to April this year, Flextronics saw a 2400% relative increase in global stories in the May to June period (from two to 50 articles).

This massive jump was triggered off by Flextronics' US$3.6 billion (S$5.47 billion) purchase of Solectron, a Californian rival in the electronics manufacturing industry, causing the press to go wild.

However Flextronics' press coverage was exclusively confined to international news sources - while the foreign media were all over the news, the announcement barely caused a blimp among Singapore's news providers. Flextronics recorded zero articles from January to May, and only one article was noted in June. This means that local sources-wise, SMRT Corporation still holds sway as top dog with a 800% relative increase in stories.

Other notable increases in the local media scene included Keppel and MobileOne, with a 400% increase, SPH with 300% and APB and OCBC Group at 200% each. In the international arena, Keppel clocked 800% while MobileOne and SPH registered 700% each. Rounding up the ranks was APB, which saw a rise of 250%.

Local sources-wise, the top five companies in terms of the highest number of accumulated stories so far are CapitaLand, DBS, SingTel, UOB, and MobileOne. The same companies occupied the ranking for global sources; with Flextronics failing to make the top five despite its strong showing. MobileOne also managed to kick out Singapore Airlines, which last month held fifth place on the international ranking.