Apple is the most relevant brand for UK consumers, according to a study by global brand and marketing consultancy, Prophet.

This is the third year running in which Apple has has taken the top spot in Prophet’s Brand Relevance Index, a ranking of the most relevant brands in consumers’ lives today.

Lego has moved from fourth place in the Index to second place and PlayStation from ninth to third, compared to 2017. Fitbit and the NHS were new entrants into the top 10 for the first time, replacing Dyson and Lush.

Outside of the top 10, it was interesting to see Nationwide become the first financial services brand to make it into the top 50, while Uber was the biggest climber leaping up from 146th in 2017 to 26th in 2018, pushing through controversies by creating a customer experience that is more essential than ever in the lives of consumers.

The top ten most relevant brands were:

1. Apple
2. Lego
3. PlayStation
4. Google
5. Netflix
6. Fitbit
7. Spotify
8. Amazon
9. NHS
10. Android

Rune Gustafson, president EMEA at Prophet, said: “Besides being technology-led disruptive companies, what many of the top 10 have in common is that they’re fast earning consumer trust by leveraging data to enhance the brand experience and connect with consumers on a deeper and more personal level.”

In order to find out which brands are the most relevant to people’s lives, Prophet conducted a survey of 11,500 UK consumers about more than 240 brands across 27 industries measuring across four brand principles: customer obsession, ruthless pragmatism, pervasive innovation, and distinctive inspiration. By speaking directly with consumers, the BRI determines which brands are truly indispensable to people’s lives and how forces like technology are changing consumer behaviours.

Gustafson said: “The Prophet Brand Relevance Index continually demonstrates that relevance pays for companies and consumers.

“By finding new ways to delight, surprise and exceed expectations, relevant brands are not only winning the hearts, minds and loyalty of consumers, they’re also winning financially too by outperforming the FTSE Index by 73% over the last decade. It’s clear that in order to succeed and grow, brands must be relevant. And, as a predictor of business growth, brand relevance is a far more powerful tool than traditional measures that companies would usually use like Net Promotor Score, for example, and that’s why the BRI is valuable for identifying both areas of strength and opportunity for brands to improve.”

Key findings

· Home-grown brands are falling behind. Year on year there’s been a decrease in the number of British brands making it into the top 50 – accounting for only 22% in 2018. British brands have been slow to adapt and adopt and the lack of disruptive innovation is fast putting future growth at risk. For brands that commit to innovation – like Dyson (12) – there’s a real opportunity to stand out from the pack.

· The power of Purpose. Lush (16), Ikea (28), brands with conviction are becoming more powerful, influential and relevant than ever. Having a built-in Purpose is enabling deeper connections to be made with consumers over pertinent issues whilst also enabling brands to tell compelling stories that build genuine warmth, credibility and loyalty.

· Rethinking value exchange. For a long time, brands failed to deliver value beyond the transactional relationship but now – with Netflix (5) and Spotify (7) leading the charge – we’re seeing more swapping rich data in order to deliver more personalised, more welcomed and more relevant experiences to consumers.

· User mindset over matter. Lego (2), Fitbit (6), Whatsapp (22) for these brands it’s no longer about treating customers as buyers but more about developing an ever-growing user base that can be tapped into in innovative, creative and community-led ways.