Top Ten Consumer Brands in the Philippines

Nielsen Consumer (formerly ACNielsen) is a global marketing research firm that is a part of The Nielsen Company, one of the world's leading supplier of marketing information, media information and TV ratings, online intelligence, and mobile measurement.

Nielsen Consumer provides and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior.

Read more about the company on Wikipedia.

The Nielsen report on the top ten consumer brands in the Philippines gives us not only a list of top consumer brands but also some insights on why customers preferred these brands.

As we all know, building a brand reputation is crucial for any type of business, whether online or offline. It takes time to build loyal consumers and become a household name, more so in the retail industry where competition is tough.

So what are these companies and what made them the top brands in their category?

Note: These brands are generally local brands that have been chosen by consumers as the leaders in their respective product categories.

1. Nokia (mobile phone brand)
2. Nescafe (coffee brand)
3. Lucky Me (instant noodles brand)
4. Energizer (battery brand)
5. Jollibee (fastfood chain brand)
6. Selecta (ice cream brand)
7. C2 (ready to drink tea brand)
8. Gatorade (isotonic drink brand)
9. Cobra (energy drink brand)
10. SM Malls (shopping mall brand)

These are my insights on why these brands are the preferred brands by majority of the consumers. I am naturally writing from a consumer's perspective.

Nokia topped the mobile phone brand as it provides a wide range of handset models from economy to premium, basic to sophisticated models. In short, there is a mobile phone that suits your budget and your lifestyle.

What does this tell us? Consumers prefer brands that can offer them lots of choices that cater to their needs. My very first mobile phone was Nokia. My daughter still uses Nokia. Although I have moved on from using this brand, I cannot deny the fact that a lot of people still prefer this brand as they have really nice-looking handsets that have user-friendly features.

Nescafe has become more popular by introducing new and different coffee mixes and variants. It has also introduced tv commercial ads where popular local celebrities endorse the product.

I personally think it is effective as it has become my mom's choice brand of instant coffee. I'm also a coffee drinker and I find the Nescafe brand really tasty too.

What does this tell us? Consumers prefer top quality brands. Although I'm not that picky in my brand of coffee and that I have drunk various brands, I would say Nescafe really tops the list of instant coffee mixes.

The Lucky Me brand of instant noodles promotes family bonding through shared quality mealtimes for the members of the family. The campaign is dubbed "Make everyday Famealy Day."

**Lucky Me video features a family having dinner together wherein the daughter shares that her classmate is pregnant and won't be graduating with them. Then she asks her mom if it's difficult to be pregnant. To which the mom replies that it's more difficult to be a mom. Then celebrity endorser Sharon Cuneta encourages the public to have mealtimes together as a family for important family discussions.

What does this tell us? Consumers like products that care for them. In this case, it shows care for the whole family. The brand triggers memories of family bonding -- sharing life and dining together. It then becomes a part of the household.

Energizer battery. I think of the pink energizer bunny that keeps going, and going, and going... This is another example of a top quality brand with a cute mascot that makes it easily recognizable and memorable too! Hmm, I wonder if the energizer bunny is still going... and going... and going. LOL ^_^

What does this tell us? Brand recall is important for consumers. I don't know about you but I sure can't forget the energizer bunny. Plus, it's a brand that is tried and tested for me.

Jollibee is the Philippines's number one fast food chain. It is the preferred local brand. McDonald's only comes second. Jollibee is well-known for it "Chicken joy" offer that is very popular with local children. Most Jollibee commercials would show families celebrating together at Jollibee.

Perhaps it's a cultural thing, but Filipino consumers love brands that cater and appeal to the whole family. Shown in the picture is the famous Jollibee mascot.

Selecta is the first ice cream brand to offer multiple flavors in one packaging.

C2 is the first to introduce the green tea drink.

Gatorade is the first isotonic drink in the market.

Cobra is the first energy drink in returnable glass bottles and is also available at local neighborhood stores (called sari-sari stores).

SM Malls spearheads what is known as the malling phenomenon in the Philippines with its more than 40 branches nationwide and some branches in China.

What have we learned from the Nielsen report?

Well, we have learned something about consumer preferences. To summarize, consumers prefer companies that:

• offer products or services that cater to their different needs
• make top quality products
• care for the whole family
• are easily recognizable and memorable
• provide value for money
• come up with innovative products
• continually improve their brand