Grab makes comeback as most positively talked about brand amongst SG youths

Grab has topped the ranks of most positively talked about brand amongst Singaporean young adults aged 18 to 34 years old, according to YouGov's BrandIndex study. The ride-hailing company overtook McDonald's this year, with a score of 76.7, while the fast food giant fell to a second spot with a score of 75.5.

The study is based on brands that were discussed in favourable terms by those in the ages of 18 to 34 in Singapore. Coming in third was newest ride-hailing competitor from Indonesia, Gojek with a score of 73.9, followed by video streaming platform Netflix (71.6), and Uniqlo (69.8). Meanwhile, social media brands also made their mark in the top 10 list, with Facebook coming in at sixth (68.3), Instagram in seventh place (68.2), WhatsApp in eighth (68.0), while Singapore Airlines takes the ninth spot (65.7) and Apple tenth (64.8).

The rankings also show which brands have experienced the greatest uplift in the positive word of mouth over the past 12 months. Smartphone manufacturer Huawei topped the improvers list for the second year running with its score increasing by +7.7 points. It appears ahead of Xiaomi (+7.0), Changi Airport (+5.9) and ION Orchard (+4.4).

Ervin Ha, YouGov’s APAC head of data products said through clever marketing campaigns and clean user interface, Grab is clearly popular among younger Singaporeans. "Even with the emergence of a fierce competitor, it has managed to harness the power of word of mouth recommendations and come up on top,” he added.

The NextGen Rankings use “word of mouth by positive buzz” scores from BrandIndex among 18-34 year-olds. Respondents are asked whether they have heard anything positive about a brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news, or word of mouth, and brands with low response volume are eliminated.

The remaining brands are ranked on word of mouth scores, which look at whether respondents talked about the brands with friends and family in the past two weeks, either in person, online, or through social media.

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