Smirnoff named top drinks brand again
Smirnoff has retained its position as the world's leading alcohol drink brand.
That's according to an annual survey of drinks brands published this week by brand consultants Intangible Business. It suggests that overall, the biggest brands have taken a "battering".
The survey, called The Power 100, assesses the financial contribution of each brand alongside its strength in the eyes of the consumer, combining scores from experts with data.
The brands are rated according to share of market, future growth, premium price position, awareness, relevance, heritage and brand perception.
Smirnoff achieved an overall score of 93.6%.
Johnnie Walker remains the world's leading whiskey brand at number two in list, despite seeing its score fall by 20% to 74%.
Others in the whiskey sector include Jack Daniel's (six overall), Chivas Regal (eight overall), Ballantine's (10 overall) and Jim Beam (15 overall).
Narrowly behind Johnnie Walker was Bacardi, the number one rum brand and number 3 in the overall list.
In fourth place was Martini top 20 is Chilean wine brand Concha y Toro, up five places to 17.
Other big climbers include Cuban rum brand Havana Club (up seven places to 25); Cognac brand Rémy Martin (up six places to 27) and American wine brand Robert Mondavi, which climbs six places to number 31 on this year's table.
There are nine new brands featured, the highest of which - Swedish vodka brand Svedka - comes straight in at number 46.
Others include Russian Standard (54), Wyborowa at 59, Aperol (70), Clan Campbell (73), William Lawson's (78), Clan MacGregor (89), Three Olives (94) and Wild Turkey (100).
They replace established brands including Banrock Station, Dom Perignon, Kumala, Lanson and Tattinger.
Stuart Whitwell, joint managing director of Intangible Business, said: "The biggest brands have taken quite a battering, marking the end to a 15 year drive to premiumisation.
"This has been replaced with a drive to value which new entrants are taking advantage of. Vodka is still a high growth area with fewer barriers to entry and greater consumer choice emerging from both established companies and new value entrants.
"It will be interesting to see if consumers return to the big brands once their economic situation improves. Or perhaps greater choice and innovation has changed the landscape for good."
