Apple turns sweeter on sentiment
Apple was the number one brand in the second quarter in General Sentiment’s Impact Value rankings, which measures reach and places a valuation on the overall level of discussion and exposure of a brand. Apple generated a value of $1.4 billion – more than $1 billion from social media – with enormous buzz surrounding the new iPhone 4 and the iPad.
The previous quarter’s leading brand, Google, slipped to third place behind BP, which generated a huge amount of coverage with its oil spill in the Mexican Gulf. Impact Value assigns positive value to all mentions, adhering to the adage that ‘all news is good news’.
“Between non-stop news coverage and highly negative social media conversation, BP is in the middle of a public relations disaster,” says General Sentiment.
“BP generated most of its Impact Value in news media as major news outlets have been covering the spill heavily. The brand has also been pervasive on Twitter, generating over $54 million in Impact Value in the time period. BP has generated a vast amount of discussion – unfortunately it is overwhelmingly negative in nature.”
In terms of Perception Value – which isolates the effects of sentiment on brand value by assigning positive value to positive mentions, and negative value to negative mentions – BP was unsurprisingly the biggest loser in the quarter.
Smirnoff experienced a significant drop due to negative chatter surrounding the Bros Icing Bros drinking game which features the brand. While the company denied any connection, the game’s tacit support of binge drinking led to negative press and drove Perception Value to low levels.
Polo Ralph Lauren was the top gaining brand in the quarter. The company strengthened its international presence and generated chatter by opening a new store in Paris, a move which came as it continued focusing on driving growth and brand strength overseas.
Another Perception Value winner was Puma which equipped seven of the national football teams in the World Cup tournament, including four of the six African teams playing in South Africa.
