The Most Consistently Relevant Brands: Apple And KitchenAid

Which brands are the most consistently relevant over time? Starting in 2016, Prophet, a leading growth consultancy, began measuring “brand relevancy”. Since that time, only two companies have been listed in the top 10% of relevant brands — Apple and KitchenAid.

KitchenAid ranked #1 in “head” in 2023 and is one of the two most relentlessly relevant brands since the inception of the BRI report. The head strengths for KitchenAid include: “Delivers a consistent experience”, “makes my life easier” and “I know I can depend on”.

The heart strengths include: “Makes me happy,” “is always finding new ways to meet my needs,” and “makes me feel inspired”. As a customer indicated: “I always know that their products are worth the money and will last me a lifetime. I have passed down KitchenAid products from my family and they are still consistent after decades”.

Boosting Brand Relevance

Adam Tremblay, Partner, Brand & Activation at Prophet indicates that to boost relevance, brands must focus on four brand-building levers:

Ambition: What is the brand’s purpose, and what value do they aspire to create for consumers? To be relentlessly relevant, a brand must have a clear, focused ambition that inspires consumers.

Ecosystem: Where does the brand exist? How might they expand their reach and impact through systems and environments they create? To increase relevance, brands might consider how they can create more meaning for more people.

Expression: How does the brand show up in the world? Are there ways they might make their storytelling more powerful through authentic look, feel, and sound across touchpoints? Memorable, emotive storytelling is a great way to enhance relevance.

Experience: How does the brand engage? Are they delivering experiences that deepen relationships with consumers? There are always more ways to deepen consumer relationships – the most relevant brands are constantly engaging and re-engaging consumers in unique, memorable ways.

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