BRAND
INTIMACY
STUDY
2018
UAE
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Brand Intimacy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Outperforming leading financial indices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
UAE Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
UAE Top 10 Most Intimate Brands 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Global findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
More on Brand Intimacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Table of
contents
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Each year we produce the largest study of brands based
on emotion. Across three countries we examine how 6,000
consumers bond with the brands they use and love. We are
entering the eighth year of our journey in defining a new paradigm
in marketing that we call Brand Intimacy. We are excited by
the findings emerging this year; the fast-rising and the brands
that excel with Generation Z point to a bright future. Brands
within the smartphone ecosystem continue to thrive as do
automotive brands, with a new surprising entrant in the top 10.
With such a wealth of findings, we have decided to parcel out
the detailed industry findings throughout the year. Each month
or so we’ll release more results and do a deep dive on the top-
ranking brands and key insights specific to that industry. The
more we learn about the performance of intimate brands, the
more we can apply those lessons in our practice with brands
of every shape and size. Perhaps what is most exciting is that
the top intimate brands continue to outperform the S&P
500 and Fortune 500, demonstrating that building stronger
bonds with customers creates a strong financial return.
Enjoy the 2018 report on Brand Intimacy in the UAE!
The largest study of brands
based on emotion
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Why Brand Intimacy?
While the world around us has changed dramatically and impacts how
we consume, buy and sell, approaches to marketing and brand building
have largely stagnated. We created Brand Intimacy to provide a new
paradigm in marketing, designed for today’s complexity.
Advantages:
• Provides greater price resilience
• Centers on emotion, which drives behavior
and willingness to purchase
• Encompasses latest advances in neuroscience
and the science of decision-making
Price Resilience
In addition to revenue and profit, we also
reviewed price resilience. We continue to see that
as consumers move from non-intimate to highly
intimate (fusing), so does their willingness to pay
a premium for the brand.
Willing to pay 20% more for brand
Non-intimate Fusing
4% 22%
450%
increase
• Measures and details our emotional
connections with the brands we use and love
• Customer-centric and based on reciprocity
• Leverages technology to establish
an ecosystem for building bonds
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Outperforming leading
financial indices
As has been the case in past years, intimate
brands continue to outperform established
financial indices for both revenue and growth
over the past 10 years.
We compiled the Top 10 companies from the
Brand Intimacy Rankings, Standard & Poor’s
500 and the Fortune 500 lists. For each brand,
our teams gathered the reported revenue and
profit/loss for the years 2007-2016 from their
annual reports and Form 10-Ks. From the data,
we then calculated the average year-over-year
growth rates for both revenue and profit for
the 10-year period. Top intimate brands deliver
superior results related to revenue and profit
growth, suggesting the importance of emotion
in driving the world’s leading brands.
Average profit growth 2007-2016
Average revenue growth 2007-2016
4 .59% 4 .37% %
4 .91% 5 .13%
10%
5%
0%
4 .59% %
20%
10%
0%
14 .55%
15 .46%
3 .68%
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Top rankings
This year’s rankings are the latest findings in eight years of
research and analysis related to Brand Intimacy. This year’s
UAE Top 10 Most Intimate Brands demonstrate the growing
dominance of technology & telecommunications as well as
automotive emerging as the year’s top industry. Five of the
top 10 brands relate to automotive, aligning with the UAE’s
car-centric culture. Apple, for the third year in a row, remains
in first place and also ranks #1 in our Mexico and .
As a technology & telecommunications brand, Apple and
others in this category are strongly linked to enhancement,
making users smarter and more connected. Lexus rose to a
strong #2 position this year, close to Apple’s performance,
while Mercedes-Benz also improved. Emirates cracked the
top 10, in 6th place, demonstrating its strength in building
bonds with customers, particularly those 25-34 years old.
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
UAE Top 10 Most
Intimate Brands 2018
Quotient
82 .6
1
Quotient
82 .0
Quotient
81 .0
3
Quotient
73 .9
4
Quotient
65 .7
5
Quotient
62 .4
6
Quotient
59 .0
7
Quotient
57 .7
8
Quotient
52 .3
9
Quotient
51 .9
10
2
7
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
8
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
ARCHETYPES
QUOTIENT
1
BRANDRANK
50
52
20 56
39
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
51
STAGES
HEAD TO HEAD
9%
Willing to pay 20%
more 2%
44% NPS 38%
38% Can’t live without 21%
82 .6 BIQ 52 .3
#1 • among WOMEN• in FUSING
• in IDENTITY
• among AGES 18-44
11
26
15
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
Apple is
king of the
smartphone
ecosystem
Manufacturers Content/Info Access Apps
Quotient Scores 53 .4 avg 42 .0 avg 41 .1 avg 23 .2 avg
9
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
10
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
BRANDRANK
ARCHETYPES
QUOTIENT
STAGES
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
INCREASED DAILY USAGE
2017
65 .7
70 .3
20182015
Q
uo
tie
nt
51
49
37
38
29
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
30
#3
#2
For the IDENTITY archetype, and
it is the highest ranked automotive
brand for this archetype
For FUSING, the highest
stage of intimacy
10
23
29
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
Fast Rising
2017
17 .8%
2018
%
120%
increase
11
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
12
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
3
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
8
22
33
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
ARCHETYPES STAGES
58
40
25 34
39
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
36
63%
BMW customers in INTIMATE
RELATIONSHIP with the brand, the
highest of any brand in our survey
HEAD TO HEAD
13%
Willing to pay 20%
more 22%
71% NPS 42%
35% Can’t live without 22%
81 .0 BIQ 44 .7
#1
• among MEN
• in FULFILLMENT
• in NET PROMOTER SCORE
#3
For FUSING, the highest
stage of intimacy
13
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
14
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
16
25
15
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
ARCHETYPES STAGES
51
48
23 37
35
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
23
#3
For the FULFILLMENT archetype,
increasing its performance in this
archetype by 10 points
#1
For BONDING, the middle
stage of intimacy
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
2017
58 .361 .4
20182015
Q
uo
tie
nt
Fast Rising
2017
29%
2018
40%
38% increase
15
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
16
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
12%
Willing to pay 20%
more 8%
63% NPS 21%
34% Can’t live without 17%
65 .7 BIQ 28 .4
ARCHETYPES STAGES
RANK BRAND QUOTIENT
57
42
29 43
31
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
30
12
14
34
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
HEAD TO HEAD
#2
For the FULFILLMENT
archetype
DAILY USAGE INCREASED
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
2017
49 .950 .9
20182015
Fast Rising
Q
uo
tie
nt
2017
34 .3%
2018
%
40% increase
17
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
18
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
ARCHETYPES STAGES
6
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
46
37
20 22
33
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
16
17
14
19
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
2X
The brand doubled its
FUSING score, the highest
stage of intimacy, since 2017
#2
Among users AGES 25-34
BRAND INTIMACY IN TRAVEL
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
2017
51 .149 .5
20182015
Fast Rising
Q
uo
tie
nt
Emirates
Air India
37 .9
Air Arabia
31 .8
Q
uo
tie
nt
19
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
20
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
14%
Willing to pay 20%
more 5%
31% NPS 10%
33% Can’t live without 10%
59 .0 BIQ 32 .0
ARCHETYPES STAGES
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
25
23
45 22
27
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
33
8
14
30
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
51%
14%
Nido customers in an INTIMATE
RELATIONSHIP with the brand
PRICE RESILIENCE HEAD TO HEAD
#1
Among AGES 25-34
Nido users WILLING TO PAY 20% MORE
for the brand’s products and offerings vs .
7%, the average for all brands
21
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
22
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
QUOTIENT
ARCHETYPES STAGES
8
BRANDRANK
36
32
31 27
32
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
24
11
14
21
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
#5
For FUSING, the highest
stage of intimacy
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
2017
50 .6
46 .1
20182015
Fast Rising
Q
uo
tie
nt
6%
Willing to pay 20%
more 8%
16% NPS 12%
7% Can’t live without 23%
57 .7 BIQ 44 .4
HEAD TO HEAD
NET PROMOTER SCORE INCREASED
2017
-4%
2018
16%
23
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
24
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
2%
Willing to pay 20%
more 2%
38% NPS 20
21% Can’t live without 24%
52 .3 BIQ 46 .0
63% increase
ARCHETYPES STAGES
9
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
39
35
24 42
27
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
36
4
13
27
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
HEAD TO HEAD
INCREASE IN DAILY USAGEINCREASE IN FUSING
3-YEAR PERFORMANCE
2017
52 .2
68 .5
20182015
Fast Rising
Q
uo
tie
nt
20172017
60 .6%8%
20182018
%13%
17% increase
25
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
26
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
ARCHETYPES STAGES
10
BRANDRANK QUOTIENT
44
31
22 32
25
FULFILLMENT
IDENTITY
NOSTALGIA ENHANCEMENT
INDULGENCE
RITUAL
33
9
9
34
BONDING
FUSING
SHARING
52%
INCREASE IN NET PROMOTER SCORE
#5
For SHARING, the earliest
stage of intimacy, doubling
its score since 2017
Ford customers have an
INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
with the brand
HEAD-TO-HEAD
2017
11%
2018
22%
100% increase
11%
Willing to pay 20%
more 8%
22% NPS 18%
27% Can’t live without 26%
51 .9 BIQ 32 .4
27
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Demographics
Demographics offer us a lens to see how intimate
relationships are impacted by gender, age and
income. In the UAE, men and women seem to form
intimate brand relationships relatively equally, with
36 percent of women in our survey having some form
of intimacy with brands they use, compared to 33
Interestingly, 80 percent of the men’s top 5 are in
automotive, while women have greater variety in their
top picks, with apparel representing two of the top 5.
percent for men. However, intimate brands based on
gender appear the most divergent. Age reveals some
consistencies and industry similarities, a remarkable
sign for those brands that span generations. Income
variations show some related brands as well.
Gender
Rank Male Female
1
2
3
4
5
Users experiencing
intimacy 33% 36%
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Income demonstrates a varied intimate view,
with Apple shared across both levels. Higher
incomes seem to favor automotive, while low-
moderate prefer technology.
Age shows two of the top 5 brands being the
same, with both also featuring automotive as
a shared top 5 industry.
Age
Rank 18-34 35-64
1
2
3
4
5
Income
Rank Low-Moderate High
1
2
3
29
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Industries
47 .1
29 .1
31 .3
28 .5
24 .8
43 .9
29 .0
30 .3
27 .9
23 .7
33 .1
28 .8
29 .6
25 .7
21 .9
AVERAGE
Automotive
Technology & telecommunications
Consumer goods
Financial services
Apparel
Appliances
Luxury
Retail
Media & entertainment
Travel
Health & hygiene
Beverages
Apps & social platforms
Fast food
Hospitality & theme parks
0 10 20 30 40 50
March April May June
• AUTOMOTIVE • LUXURY
• APPS & SOCIAL
PLATFORMS
• RETAIL
• TRAVEL
• MEDIA &
ENTERTAINMENT
• CONSUMER
GOODS
• HOSPITALITY &
THEME PARKS
July August September October
• ◊TECH &
TELECOMM
• FINANCIAL
SERVICES
• HEALTH &
HYGIENE
• APPAREL
• APPLIANCES
• BEVERAGES
• FAST FOOD
Explore detailed industry findings
as we release them over the year.
30
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Top industries by country
Rank
1
MEDIA &
ENTERTAINMENT
TECHNOLOGY &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AUTOMOTIVE
2 AUTOMOTIVE FINANCIAL SERVICES
TECHNOLOGY &
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
3 RETAIL HEALTH & HYGIENE CONSUMER GOODS
22%
Countries
33%
31%
Consumers who are intimate with brands
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Interested in the perspectives
of other countries? You
can view findings from our
. or Mexico reports to
learn more about intimate
brands in those markets.
31
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Explore more on Brand Intimacy
A new paradigm in marketing
To learn more about Brand Intimacy, in both theory and
practice, and how to measure, build and manage your own
intimate brand, order a copy of our international bestseller.
EXPLORE
32
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
Assess your brand
Explore 10 key facets to shaping
intimate brands and assessing your
brand’s potential for building bonds.
Ways to build a
more intimate brand
Consider a variety of key ways you
can build an intimate brand and
deploy it across your organization.
Interactive
ranking tool
Review the detailed performance
of ranked brands and filter results
by age, income and gender.
EXPLORE
EXPLORE
EXPLORE
33
BRAND INTIMACY 2018
METHODOLOGY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SOURCES
The Brand Intimacy Study is a comprehensive effort requiring collaboration
among researchers, strategists, writers, designers, programmers and
coordinators. MBLM would like to thank Mario Natarelli and Rina Plapler for
directing, shaping and driving this new marketing paradigm every day and
throughout each year. Without support from the other partners at MBLM,
the study could not have been realized. Our thanks to Claude Salzberger,
Eduardo Calderón, John Diefenbach, Sidney Blank, Amy Clausi, William
Shintani, María Gabriela Pulido, Demetri Mihalakakos, David Clover, Kristiane
Blomqvist and Juan Carlos Arias for their support and leadership.
A very special thanks to our dedicated, hardworking, multidisciplinary team
whose brilliance brought the study to life: Lyutha Al-Habsy, Deyan Iolov, Kate
Conrad, Vera Kasper, Will Biondi, Huimin Lee, Heitor Piffer, Frank Alcock,
Tom Weick, Youcef Haouatis, Risa DiBiasi, Lourice Simeon, Rodrigo Diez,
Cecilia Rodríguez, Melisa Agúndez, Santiago Espinosa, Ashwin Kulothungun,
Marc Stevenson, Saneesh Sukesan, Sara Muslim and Ehab Almassrey.
To review the sources cited in this report, please visit our Sources page.
During 2017, MBLM with Praxis Research Partners conducted an online
quantitative survey among 6,000 consumers in the . (3,000), Mexico (2,000),
and the United Arab Emirates (1,000). Participants were respondents who
were screened for age (18 to 64 years of age) and annual household income
($35,000 or more) in the . and socioeconomic levels in Mexico and the
UAE (A, B and C socioeconomic levels). Quotas were established to ensure
that the sample mirrored census data for age, gender, income/socioeconomic
level, and region. The survey was designed primarily to understand the extent
to which consumers have relationships with brands and the strength of those
relationships from fairly detached to highly intimate. It is important to note
that this research provides more than a mere ranking of brand performance
and was specifically designed to provide prescriptive guidance to marketers.
We modeled data from over 6,000 interviews and approximately 54,000
brand evaluations to quantify the mechanisms that drive intimacy. Through
factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and other sophisticated analytic
techniques, the research allows marketers to better understand which levers
need to be pulled to build intimacy between their brand and consumers. Thus,
marketers will understand not only where their brand falls in the hierarchy
of performance but also how to strengthen performance in the future.
To read a more detailed description of our approach, visit our Methodology page.
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
MBLM is the Brand Intimacy Agency,
delivering expertise and offerings across
three areas of focus: Agency, Lab and
Platform. With offices in seven countries,
our multidisciplinary teams help clients
build stronger bonds and deliver optimized
marketing outcomes and returns for the
long term. To learn more about how we
can help you create and sustain ultimate
brand relationships, visit .
©2018 All rights reserved
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BRAND INTIMACY 2018
+971 4 276 7300
info .dxb@mblm .com
