America’s Most Loved Brands Topped by Beauty and Personal Care Brands, According to Consumer Study by Engagement Labs

Trader Joe’s and LEGO Come Out on Top for Offline Sentiment, While American Family Insurance and Lush Rank Highest for Online Positivity

Charles Schwab and Sam’s Club Show Most Significant Increase in Brand Love

  NEW YORK, NY (March 14, 2023) – Engagement Labs released its sixth annual ranking of America’s “most loved” brands. Trader Joe’s, the American grocery store, ranks first while LEGO, the iconic toy manufacturer, moved up to the second top spot of the list of brands most positively talked about in offline conversations, ahead of more than 650 brands across all consumer categories. Meanwhile, American Family Insurance holds the top position for the most loved brands in online talk, while Lush moved to the number two spot. “The TotalSocial Most Loved Brands this year showcase the enduring, strong emotional bond between consumers and the brands they love. Consumers are passionate about brands, and this generates brand talk. Our TotalSocial data reveals the importance of earning positive talk and recommendations from consumers goes beyond connecting with them and delivering great experiences – brands that deliver become beloved,” said Steven M Brown, president of Engagement Labs. “Our work with Fortune 500 brands has consistently emphasized the importance of cultivating brand love to maximize marketing ROI, and this focus will continue throughout 2023.”
  • Trader Joe’s is a consistent winner on the TotalSocial Most Loved Brand awards with a sentiment score of 91 and the retailer enjoys a significant competitive advantage. Other supermarkets lag behind at quite a distance earning scores well below Trader Joe’s, including H-E-B (77), Aldi (68), Food Lion (63) and Publix (61).
  • American Family Insurance does a great job engaging with consumers online. The company itself, employees and agents share helpful tips to protect your home and in the company’s words “protect your dreams.”
  • Charles Schwab’s improvement in offline brand love grew the most last year than any other top brands with 126 rank change. While Sam’s Club rank change increased by 65 moving up to the fourth position for online most loved brands.
Net sentiment of consumer conversations continues to be positive for everyday categories such as beauty and personal care, children’s products, food and home. Consumers tend to place a significant emphasis on these categories as they directly relate to their daily lives and well-being that generate consumer conversations. Brands that can successfully generate positive conversations and engagement with consumers in these categories are likely to see increased sales and brand loyalty. This analysis ranks the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations as well as phone, emailing, texting, IM’ing, video chat – in other words, via any channel other than posting on social media) to determine its annual TotalSocial Brand Awards winners.  

The Impact of Online and Offline Conversations on Business Outcomes

Engagement Labs research has demonstrated that online and offline conversations are distinct from one another and usually have no correlation. Despite both types of conversations having an impact that leads to sales and business outcomes, they do so in different ways, necessitating different marketing strategies. According to Engagement Labs’ data and analytics, these consumer conversations drive 19% of all purchases. This has been evidenced in Engagement Labs articles published in the Journal of Advertising Research and the MIT Sloan Management Review. “The adjusted lifestyles and return to normalcy in 2022 are reflected in the brands that appear on our ‘most loved’ list, and in the brand landscape of those that have earned the most positive recommendations and talk from consumers,” said Brown. “In the offline space, Olay, Lysol, Doritos, Charles Schwab, and Bath & Body Works have seen the biggest surge in popularity, while Sam’s Club, OshKosh B’Gosh, and Urban Decay have gained the most significant positive attention online. And let’s celebrate and recognize Trader Joe’s, Lego, Dawn, Dove, Dove Men+Care, American Family, Lush, Express, Clean & Clear, TripAdvisor and Clinique who continue to demonstrate what consumers have engaged with and spoken about with great sentiment over the past year and the prior year.” Marketers aim to achieve more positive conversations, both online and offline, to become “Conversation Commanders,” which are the most successful brands in both conversation arenas. To accomplish this, marketers require two distinct measurement and marketing strategies to ensure that these separate, yet equally important conversations are optimized. By utilizing data and social intelligence, marketers can gain insights into consumer behavior and preferences, which can help drive business goals, such as increased sales and brand loyalty.   To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s consumer conversations in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.

###

  About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s patented TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Most Loved Brands The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Loved Award is given to brands with the highest net sentiment scores online and offline in 2022.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing and Sales Operations Engagement Labs

Consumers Reveal Most Loved Brands – Beauty and Personal Care Brands Lead Rankings

Engagement Labs Releases New Study Ranking Brands with Greatest Sentiment

Carter’s and Trader Joe’s Lead Offline Sentiment, While American Family Insurance and Walmart’s Great Value Also Switched Top Positions for the Most Positive Brands Online

Costco’s Kirkland Brand Excels as the Only Brand Among Top Ten In Both Online and Offline Sentiment; Gillette with Most Notable Improvement in Brand Love

    NEW YORK, NY (March 3, 2022) – Engagement Labs released its fifth annual ranking of America’s “most loved” brands. Carter’s, the retailer of children’s apparel ranks first while Trader Joe’s, the American grocery store, moved down to the second top spot of the list of brands most positively talked about in offline conversations, ahead of more than 650 brands across all consumer categories. Meantime, Great Value, a Walmart brand, and American Family Insurance also switched places for the top positions for the most loved brands in online talk. “This year’s TotalSocial Most Loved Brands exhibit the vital consumer emotional connection with brands and demonstrates how the brand marketers have built and found opportunities even during the past two years of pandemic,” said Steven Brown, president of Engagement Labs. “Brand love has been a major part of our work with Fortune 500 brands and continues to be a focus in 2022.” Costco’s Kirkland is the only brand to rank among brands both online and offline that shows the importance of marketing strategies that seek to activate both channels in driving business performance. Gillette’s improvement in offline brand love grew the most last year than any other top 10 brand. Gillette has not been shy of the weighing in real-world conversations in social issues with ads such as toxic masculinity that demonstrates that when it comes to offline, its positive word of mouth rise above and resonates to consumers. Last year’s net sentiment of consumer conversations is positive for everyday categories such as beauty and personal care, children’s products, food and home.  The importance of positive sentiment prevails as the “Great Resignation” ensues and more people adjust to hybrid lifestyle and preferring to stay at home to work remotely. This analysis ranks the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations as well as phone, emailing, texting, IM’ing, video chat – in other words, via any channel other than posting on social media) to determine its annual TotalSocial Brand Awards winners.

The Difference Between Offline and Online Conversations

Online and offline discussions are two entirely different conversations, generally unrelated to each other, as Engagement Labs articles have shown in the Journal of Advertising Research and the MIT Sloan Management Review. Both types of conversations have an impact that leads to sales, but they do so very differently, and they require different marketing strategies. According to Engagement Labs data and analytics 19 percent of all consumer purchases are driven by these kinds of consumer conversations. “The modified life and return to some normality during 2021 reflect the brands on our ‘most loved’ brands list and brand landscape of who’s earning the most positive recommendations from consumers,” said Brown. “The rise of Lush, Trip Advisor, Kenmore, Mary Kay and Express online, as well as Dawn, Gillette, and Kirkland in the offline space reveals what consumers engage and talk about with great sentiment for the past year.” “The goal of marketers is to be successful in achieving more positive conversations, both online and offline, to ultimately become “Conversation Commanders,” as we have labeled the most successful brands in both conversation arenas. To achieve this, marketers need to have two separate measurement and marketing strategies, to make sure these separate, but equally important conversations are maximized.” To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s consumer conversations in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.  

###

  About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients. To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Most Loved Brands The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Loved Award is given to brands with the highest net sentiment scores online and offline in 2021.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com

New Study Shows Digital Advertising Significantly Drives More Brand Word Of Mouth And Conversation Than Social Advertising On Facebook

First of Its Kind Study By Engagement Labs Examines Digital Versus Social Ad Performance of Ten Leading Consumer Brands

  NEW YORKDec. 13, 2021 — Today Engagement Labs released the findings of a study on digital advertising compared to social advertising on Facebook. The study, commissioned by G/O Media, showed that digital display ads contribute significantly more than Facebook to both offline and online volume of conversations for marketers. The study went deep into specific marketers in two big spending categories and for every tech and beverage brand in the study the results were clear. The technology and beverage industries were chosen based on their two distinct consumer purchasing mindsets and digital/social advertising spend. G/O Media specifically sought to understand the role of paid social vs. digital display advertising and ascertain which has the greater ability to drive people to share online and talk offline. The overall project goal was to determine the impact of advertiser investment in digital paid media (display, online video, mobile app, mobile web video) vs paid Facebook advertising in driving offline conversations and online mentions. The analysis was undertaken for ten leading brands, five each in the tech and beverage categories. The surprising findings found that the contribution from digital advertising to the average tech brand’s offline conversations is 15.8% vs 3.3% for paid social on Facebook. Online, the average tech brand has an 8.3% contribution from digital and 1.9% from paid social. In the beverage category, the average brand has a 9.6% contribution from digital advertising on offline conversation vs 2.4% from paid social. Online, the average beverage brand has an 8.3% contribution from digital and 1.7% from paid social. The study also found that digital display media is highly effective at both online and offline performance for brands. This means the digital advertising that consumers engage with isn’t siloed to the online space – it also impacts face-to-face and other offline conversations. The third key finding from the study is the superior ROI from digital display vs. paid social on Facebook in terms of ability to drive offline and online conversations. The study looked at what is the value of an additional dollar of digital advertising vs paid social media on Facebook on increased offline and online conversations and finds that digital ads have a higher estimated ROI than paid social for both offline and online. This was true for both categories. “There are a lot of assumptions made when it comes to social influence and what sparks it, but too often those assumptions lack empirical evidence. One of them is understanding what drives people to talk about brands, both online and offline. We are pleased to have partnered with G/O Media to bring this first of its kind analytical insight to the advertising community,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. “Knowing where to invest to drive social influence can make a big difference and a much-needed competitive edge for brands to prosper in a marketplace that is increasingly driven by consumer conversation and recommendations.” “Word of mouth is essential to any successful marketing effort. For several years the perception balance has been tipped in favor of platforms where scale is massive but attention is limited,” said David Spiegel, Chief Revenue Officer of G/O Media. “Combining user attention with contextual relevance has always been a strong driver of ad effectiveness and that is what publishers offer marketers. This study confirms the enduring value proposition of digital display advertising in driving both brand conversation and positive business outcomes.” The analysis is based on syndicated online and offline consumer conversation tracking from Engagement Labs over the period from January 2018 – May 2021, with media expenditure data that Engagement Labs procured from Kantar Media. Analytical modeling was conducted by Engagement Labs.   About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients. To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About G/O Media G/O Media reaches more than a third of all Americans online each month with over 100 million unique visitors, including its extended network. This collection of digital-first brands serves a young, diverse audience with content that reflects their shared values and passions, including category-leading sites focused on tech and science (Gizmodo); pop culture and entertainment (The A.V. Club); sports news (Deadspin); car culture (Jalopnik); modern women’s interests (Jezebel); gaming (Kotaku); lifestyle (Lifehacker); food and drink (The Takeout); African American news and culture (The Root); humor and satire news (The Onion); and e-commerce (The Inventory). Engagement Labs Press Contact:
Vanessa Lontocvanessa.lontoc@engagmentlabs.com G/O Media Press Contact:
Mark Neschismneschis@g-omedia.com   SOURCE G/O Media

Beauty and Personal Care Brands Dominate Most Loved Brands During Pandemic Year, New Study of Online and Offline Consumer Conversations Reveals

Trader Joe’s and Carter’s Lead Offline Talk Sentiment, While Walmart’s Great Value and American Family Insurance Retain their Rankings as the Most Positive Brands Online

 

Unilever’s Dove Excels as Only Brand Among Top Ten In Both Online and Offline Sentiment

  NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2021) – Trader Joe’s, the American neighborhood grocery store, and Carter’s the retailer of children’s apparel rocketed up the list of brands most positively talked about in offline conversations, ahead of more than 650 brands across all consumer categories, to take top “most loved” honors in Engagement Labs’ fourth annual TotalSocial® Brand Awards.   Meantime, Great Value, a Walmart brand, and American Family Insurance earn the top positions (as they did last year) for the most loved brands in online talk.   Unilever’s Dove claims special notice as the only brand to rank among brands both online and offline during the COVID era – an important achievement given the importance of both offline and online in driving business performance. Dove’s improvement in online brand love grew more than any other top 10 brand. This reflected Dove’s focus on The CROWN Act and #BeautyBias campaigns that resonated to women everywhere and providing a platform for impactful conversations on social and racial justice in America. Dove has a long tradition of campaigns that are engaging both online and offline since its provocative landmark Real Beauty campaign, and 2020 was no exception.   Consumer conversations changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic with everyday categories such as beauty and personal care, video games, and household cleaning products taking on new importance and shifted consumer needs as time spent at home surged and amid quarantine mode for many Americans.   This analysis ranks the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations as well as phone, emailing, texting, IM’ing, video chat – in other words, via any channel other than posting on social media) to determine its annual TotalSocial Brand Awards winners.

Why TotalSocial: Offline and Online Conversations Matter

Before consumers make buying decisions, they talk – especially during COVID times. But what do they talk about and how has that changed?  Online AND Offline – through social media, product reviews, face-to-face or via Zoom, by text or IM, or via whatever channel – Americans seek recommendations, feedback and validation in our choices of entertainment and products. These conversations, reviews and the counsel of our peers have enormous impact on consumer choices and thus on brands in terms of sales, brand health, and other KPIs. According to Engagement Labs data and analytics 19 percent of all consumer purchases are driven by these kinds of consumer conversations.   “COVID-19 changed our lives during 2020. The brands on our ‘most loved’ brands list reflect the change in brand landscape as exhibited in those that earned the most positive recommendations from consumers during the pandemic,” said Engagement Labs CEO Ed Keller. “We see dramatic change for Nivea, Minecraft, Oreo and Lipton offline, and Dove and Fabuloso online, as well as home appliance brands KitchenAid and Frigidaire. And congratulations to Dove for once again leading the way in both offline and online conversation with relevant, talkworthy content as they have consistently done for many years now.”   “Even with the pandemic and everything it brought with it, along with the polarized political climate, consumers continued to talk about brands. To be successful in this new era, marketers must be part of the consumer conversation, which is predictive of long-term brand value, in addition to sales,” Keller noted. “Marketers need to have unique strategies for positive engagement and consumer conversation online vs. offline to drive better brand and business outcomes.”   To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s consumer conversations in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.   To learn more about the TotalSocial Brand Awards, click here.  

###

  About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Most Loved Brands The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Loved Award is given to brands with the highest net sentiment scores online and offline in 2020.   Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Engagement Labs does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.   Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com  

Engagement Labs and Dstillery Partner to Help Brands Tap Into Word-of-Mouth Audiences at Scale

Marketers Can Now Target Digital Ads Based on Proprietary Offline Word-of-Mouth Advocacy Segments

Opens Door to Unlock a Powerful New Social Channel

  New Brunswick, NJ/Toronto, Ontario — February 9, 2021 — Engagement Labs, the industry-leading data and analytics firm that specializes in offline and online social data and intelligence for brands and companies, has announced a new alliance with Dstillery, the leading custom audience solutions partner for agencies and brands. The partnership opens the way for marketers across a wide range of categories to better target word-of-mouth influencers.   In today’s consumer environment, advice from friends and family is acknowledged to be the most important and trusted source of information, proven to drive sales and other business outcomes.  Engagement Labs has demonstrated that offline data (word of mouth) is distinct from social media – both larger in volume and with even greater impact. To date, marketers have not had a means to digitally target offline WOM influencers as a complement to their social media. TotalSocial® data allows brands to identify and target brand influencers, advocates and ambassadors, in addition to competitors.   The data partnership fills that important void. It is based on the integration of proprietary data about offline word-of-mouth based on the Engagement Labs TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, matched to Dstillery’s AI-based anonymous consumer database. The segments cover the full range of consumer categories from CPG brands in food, beverages and household products, to highly considered purchases such as technology, telecom and automotive, as well as financial and travel services. The audience targets made are made available through Dstillery and programmatic ad platforms.   “This is an important new opportunity for our clients and brands to reach a vital segment of consumers who are already talking about their brand and category, to drive advocacy that will amplify their messages and accelerate sales,” stated Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. “As a firm that prides itself on innovation, we are thrilled and proud to be associated with Dstillery with their impressive data offering of incomparable speed and flexibility. This partnership widens and builds our targeting capacity to help our clients to further enhance and galvanize their word-of-mouth strategies.”   “Our clients are highly interested in reaching powerful, new-to-market audience segments that will enable their media buying to be more efficient and effective. Word-of-mouth advocacy is of great interest,” said Peter Ibarra, Director Strategic Initiatives at Dstillery. “We recognize that Engagement Labs is a leader in consumer conversation data. Combining our data and technologies provides marketers and advertisers access to a new, highly valuable set of audience segments so they can prosper in our highly connected marketplace.”  

###

  About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc / Ed Keller, CEO Engagement Labs vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com / ed.keller@engagementlabs.com   About Dstillery Dstillery is the leading custom audience solutions company, empowering brand marketers and their agencies to maximize the value of customer data and transform the way they connect with their audiences.   Our premier product, Custom AI Audiences, is built by just-for-your-brand Custom AI models that deliver the ideal combination of accuracy and scale. Because Dstillery continuously refreshes audience data, our audiences are always up-to-date and on-target. That’s why brands across Retail, CPG, Finance, Luxury, B2B, Telco, Travel, and Tech rely on Dstillery’s audience solutions to optimize their branding and performance marketing campaigns, helping to drive growth.   To learn more, visit us at www.dstillery.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Disney+ Surges from Last to First in Offline Conversation Amid Pandemic

Nivea and Colgate, Also Gain Offline;

H-E-B and Publix Gain in Social Media;

HGTV Gains Online and Offline

  NEW YORK, NY (June 11, 2020) – The impact of the 2020 pandemic is being strongly felt in online and offline consumer conversations as consumer priorities and interests have shifted. Entertainment, and particularly streaming services, are among brands benefiting the most, consistent with earlier reports from Engagement Labs. The TotalSocial® rankings are based on a combination of metrics including how much conversation brands earn, how positive, whether consumers are sharing brand content, and how well the brand is connecting with the most influential consumers. The top brand for offline conversation in March – May (the “Covid quarter”) is Disney+, which zoomed from last place to first since before its November 2019 launch. HGTV also rose remarkably, from 300th to 9th in 12 months, reflecting much more time for watching television, and interest in home improvement among people stuck at home. Indeed, HGTV is the only brand to appear in both the online and offline TotalSocial Top Ten, having risen from 23rd to 6th online. In online conversations, the Food Network moved up to first place, thanks to increased interest in home cooking during the pandemic, as reflected in more positive conversations about the brand online. Media and entertainment brands perform particularly well online, capturing eight of the top ten positions, with big gains for HGTV, Spotify, and the NFL. Notably absent from the Top Ten lists versus a year ago are Trivago, Audi, and USAA offline, and Disney World online. Declining interest in travel and automobiles during the pandemic explain these declines. Why Disney+ Leads and Bests the Other Streaming Competitors Although Netflix and Amazon earn enormous conversation volume, Disney+ outshines them on the TotalSocial ranker for March to May 2020 due to Disney+ having a more favorable positive-to-negative conversation ratio, and due to the high share of people talking about the brand being socially-connected influencers. “I can’t think of another brand that literally went from zero to number-one so fast,” said Engagement Labs CEO Ed Keller of Disney+. “The combination of a great brand, a successful holiday season release, and then a pandemic keeping people at home has provided the perfect storm for Disney+ plus to succeed in the streaming marketplace. It’s also notable that while the social media conversation curve quickly flattened for Disney+, the offline curve has plateaued at 40 million conversations per week,” Mr. Keller said. “Online and offline conversation trends frequently diverge, which is why it’s important for marketers to measure both conversation channels.”  

DISNEY+ CURVE HAS FLATTENED ONLINE, BUT PLATEAUED OFFLINE

Personal Care and Retail Gain Not all the brands gaining conversation in 2020 are flashy entertainment brands. After Disney+, the biggest offline improvement is for Nivea, which jumped 159th to 3rd on the list, and Colgate which jumped from 43rd to 6th. Online, big gains were registered for drugstore and grocery retailers H-E-B and Publix. These brands are benefiting from consumers’ increased focus on consumer staples, and limited retail options, during the COVID-19 crisis. For the same reason, we saw some stunning gains for a wide variety of household and personal care brands that did not rise high enough to break into the Top Ten, including Campbell’s (+215 places), Degree (+169), Crest (+223), and Bayer (+224) offline; and Dial (+214), Gerber (+217), Downey (+180), Bounty (+67), Glade (+110), and Charmin (+172) online. “The COVID-19 pandemic has reshuffled consumer conversations, in line with changing lifestyles. In fifteen years of tracking, we’ve never seen so much change in such a short time,” Mr. Keller said.   ###   About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com      

Nintendo Excels in Talkworthy Marketing: The Only Brand to Rank in Top 10 Both Online and Offline Ranker from Engagement Labs

PlayStation Ranked #1 Online While AARP Grabbed the #1 Spot Offline

Video Game Industry Dominates the Top Online Talkworthy Marketing Campaigns, While Beauty and Personal Care Produce the Most Talkworthy Campaigns Offline

  NEW YORK, NY (May 14, 2019) – Nintendo stands out among 600+ brands as the only one to place in the top 10 both offline and online. Nintendo moved from third to second place for the most talkworthy marketing campaigns online, while Nintendo Switch ranked number 9 for offline brand sharing. Driving the brand’s charge to the top of 2019 were its kickoff marketing of Animal Crossing, successful sales of video games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Sword, to eSports tournaments and events. PlayStation, the video game console, and AARP, the advocacy organization for the 50+ population, grabbed the top spots of the brands most successful in driving consumer conversations with advertising and marketing. PlayStation bested in social sway for online (via social media) and AARP for the role of paid and owned media in driving offline buzz (primarily via face-to-face conversations). The brands surpassed more than 600 brands to take the first positions of Engagement Labs’ TotalSocial® system in this year’s TotalSocial Brand Awards series in the Most Talkworthy Marketing category. Advertising and marketing is a great conversation starter. It reminds people why they like the brand, or what is new and worth checking, thus providing a trigger for conversations and recommendations.  Media/marketing plays a significant role in driving conversation, which in turns play a crucial role in the decision-making process, driving an estimated 19 percent of purchases, according to Engagement Labs’ analytics published in the MIT Sloan Management Review. About half that impact comes from offline conversation and the other half from social media, making it important for brands to master both. PlayStation launched ‘It’s Time to Play’ campaign in 2019 which led it to the top spot in the online ranking for two years in a row and coincides as the most popular video game console. On its heels are its competitors, Nintendo and Xbox in third place. “PlayStation and the video game industry understand how passionate their fans and gamers can be. They incorporate incredible stories through their games and translates well into their advertising and marketing. Our ‘Online Brand Sharing’ metric is a test of the shareability of content online,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs. “Compelling and buzzworthy ads and marketing make a big difference and a much-needed competitive edge for brands in an increasingly tight market,” added Keller. AARP jumped to the number one spot of the offline brand sharing this year with “Saving for Retirement” campaign with Ad Council, and various ad campaigns including the organization’s prescription drug related advocacy. Runner up for second place for offline brand sharing is AVON, the beauty brand and one of the world’s largest funders of causes that are critical to women’s rights. AVON with an army of more than 200,000 sales representatives in the US are also its brand ambassadors and marketers. “Given the close relationship between consumer conversations and sales, brands that have a strong incentive to create “talkable” and “shareable” campaigns is important to make sure your passionate advocates are armed with the latest content to share with others,” notes Steven Brown, President of Engagement Labs. “AARP, AVON and GEICO are examples of brands that are extremely effective at generating conversations with their advertising, and this is a key factor in their success in the marketplace.” To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s word of mouth in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com. To learn more about the TotalSocial Brand Awards, click here.   *Categories included automotive, beauty and personal care, beverages (alcohol and non-alcoholic), children’s products, consumer packaged goods, dining, financial services, food, health, household products, retail and apparel, supermarkets and grocery stores, technology, and telecom.  

###

  About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Brands with The Most Talkworthy Marketing The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Talkworthy Marketing Award is given to brands with the highest brand sharing scores online and offline in 2019.   Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Engagement Labs does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.   Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com

Crystal Light and CVS Lead the Most Successful Brands in Activating Buzz Among US Consumer Influencers

Ranking Focuses on Everyday Influencers, Who Carry Strong Sway with Consumers

  NEW YORK, NY (April 15, 2020) – Crystal Light, the beverage mix, and CVS, retail pharmacy drugstore, grabbed the top spots of the brands most successful with everyday influencers – CVS for online (via social media) and Crystal Light for offline (via face-to-face conversations). The brands bested more than 600 brands to take the first positions of Engagement Labs’ TotalSocial® system in this year’s TotalSocial Brand Awards series. The awards analyzed more than 600 U.S. consumer brands, Engagement Labs selected winners based on the extent to which this influential audience represented a large proportion of those people who talk about and recommend the brands offline and online. “There are ‘everyday influencers,’ in people’s own social networks who get sought out for advice and recommendations,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs and author of the seminal book, The Influentials: One American in Ten Americans tells the Other 9 How to Vote, Where to Eat, and What to Buy. “It is important for brands to focus marketing on the “influencer next-door” who is often called upon to tell their close network about great products without being paid and maintain authenticity,” said Keller. “Marketers have a much more sustainable opportunity to engage everyday influencers whose value comes from personal relationships with their closest friends and families. They should not, however, be confused with paid influencers on places like Instagram and YouTube.” Everyday influencers are the one in 10 consumers with large social networks who frequently make product and service recommendations – they are your neighbors who are first to try new electronics or beauty products, and eager to tell you what worked and what didn’t. “This year’s most influential brands is a mix of sectors from retail, airlines, quick service restaurants and not surprisingly the beauty industry earned positive recommendations from consumers,” noted Keller. “We see dramatic leaps in ranking from Costco’s Kirkland brand from social media, and Subaru from offline face to face conversations.” Data and extensive analytics undertaking reveal the impact of everyday influencers in driving business outcomes in WARC’s Admap article. To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s consumer conversations in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.   To learn more about the TotalSocial Brand Awards, click here.   ###   About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Most Successful Brands in Activating Influential Consumers The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Successful Brands in Activating Influential Consumers is given to brands with the highest online and offline influence scores in 2019.   Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Engagement Labs does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.   Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com

Consumer Conversations Reveal Big Differences In Most Loved Brands Online and Offline

Nintendo Switch and Gain Lead Offline Talk, While Beauty Brands Dominate Most Positive Brands Online

Unilever’s Dove Men + Care Only Brand Among Top Ten Both Online and Offline Sentiment

  NEW YORK, NY (March 12, 2019) – Nintendo Switch, the fastest-selling console of the current generation, and Gain laundry detergent zoomed up the list of brands most positively talked about in offline conversations, both leapfrogging ahead of more than 600 brands to take the first and second “most loved” positions, respectively, in Engagement Labs’ TotalSocial® system. Meantime, online brand conversations generated a completely different list of most loved brands, including American Family Insurance and Great Value, a Walmart brand, earning the most positive online talk.  Only one brand, Unilever’s Dove Men + Care, managed to rank among the most positively talked about brands both online and offline. Marketers desire to foster a brand evangelist movement and a community of active brand advocates. Brand evangelism is important as positive consumer conversations about the brands they love can accelerate and grow business. According to Engagement Labs data and analytics 19 percent of all consumer purchases are driven by these kinds of consumer conversations. For the 2019 analysis of more than 600 US consumer brands across a spectrum of industry sectors and categories, Engagement Labs ranked the most loved brands based on net positive conversations happening online (via social media) and offline (via face-to-face conversations) based on its annual TotalSocial® Brand Awards series. TotalSocial Brand Awards 2020 - Most Loved Brands Offline TotalSocial Brand Awards 2020 - Most Loved Brands Online “The eclectic mix of brands on our ‘most loved’ brands list show that brands in any category can earn positive recommendations from consumers,” said Engagement Labs CEO Ed Keller. “We also see the potential for brands to improve, dramatically, as Nintendo, Gain, and CoverGirl did last year.” Many of the brands on both the online and offline lists are in the beauty category. Aveeno and Olay are among the most positively talked about brands offline, while 7 of the 10 top online brands are in the beauty category, including Avon, Mary Kay, and Garnier Fructis. “The beauty category has worked hard to engage online influencers, and it shows in the positive discussions these brands receive,” said Keller. “It’s a lesson for other categories, as well, that they can benefit from proactive social media campaigns.” Despite the general strength of beauty brands, several fell of the lists entirely.  L’Oréal dropped off the “most loved” offline list, from number 8 in 2018 to 34 in 2019. In terms of positive online conversations, Estee Lauder fell from 8 to 46, and Neutrogena fell from 9 to 73. To learn more about Engagement Labs and how to increase your brand’s consumer conversations in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.   To learn more about the TotalSocial Brand Awards, click here.   ###   About Engagement Labs Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics. Engagement Labs has a proprietary ten-year database of unique brand, industry and competitive intelligence, matched with its cutting-edge predictive analytics that use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reveal the social metrics that increase marketing ROI and top line revenue for its diverse group of clients.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   About TotalSocial® TotalSocial® is a premier data and analytics platform that provides brands with unique insights, improved marketing ROI and strategies to grow revenue. Fueled by actionable online and offline data, TotalSocial is the only platform that encompasses and listens to the entire social ecosystem. TotalSocial offers unique, proprietary data about brands, its industry and competitors. With cutting-edge diagnostics, patent-pending predictive analytics and machine learning, TotalSocial identifies business opportunities and provides recommendations and a roadmap to grow revenue and achieve business and marketing goals.   About TotalSocial Brand Awards – Most Loved Brands The awards are based on the Company’s proprietary TotalSocial® data and analytics platform, which continuously measures the online and offline social metrics that are proven drivers of business performance. These metrics, including both online and offline conversations against the following major conversation dimensions: net sentiment (the difference in the percent positive conversations minus negative), brand sharing (the extent to which people are sharing or talking about a brand’s marketing or advertising), volume (a measure of how many conversations mention a brand) and influence (the extent to which an influential audience is talking about a brand). The Most Loved Award is given to brands with the highest net sentiment scores online and offline in 2019.   Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Engagement Labs does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.   Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com

Most Candidates Catching Up with Biden In Kitchen-Table Conversations Among Democrats, According to Latest Word-Of-Mouth Study

Biden and Sanders Neck-and-Neck, with Strong Sentiment Advantage for Sanders

Warren in Third Place; Bloomberg Ahead of Buttigieg

African American conversations very different from other Democrats

  NEW YORK, NY (January 13, 2020) – Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the most talked about candidate for President among Democrats nationwide, but other candidates are catching up, notably Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to a new study completed by Engagement Labs before the January debate in Des Moines, IA. Just over 1 in 3 Democrats (34.4%) reported having talked about Joe Biden in the prior 7 days, about the same as in a mid-December wave of the study. Meantime, Senator Sanders has risen 4 points, and trails Biden in Democratic conversations by only 3. All other top candidates also rose 3-5 points. The December study stood out because it showed newly announced candidate Bloomberg at fourth place, ahead of Buttigieg who generally was ahead of Bloomberg in national polls at the time.  Bloomberg’s polling has risen since pulling him even with Buttigieg in several recent polls. “Bloomberg’s rise in the polls in January is consistent with what we’ve seen time and again—word of mouth predicts future preferences and behavior,” said Engagement Labs CEO Ed Keller.   Conversation Sentiment Favors Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren The study also gauges sentiment, where the leaders are Sanders, Buttigieg, and Warren for whom more than 60% of their conversations are “mostly positive” according to the Democrats. Since December, conversations are less positive for Klobuchar (-7 points) and Gabbard (-14), while sentiment about Bloomberg has risen 8 points to 49% positive, the largest gain among any candidate. African American Conversations Like Sanders, Dislike Buttigieg and Klobuchar While Biden leads in the conversations of African Americans, his lead over Sanders is weaker than many observers might expect. Biden’s edge over Sanders in the frequency of conversations is just 31.7% to 29.0%, and Sanders has the most enthusiasm of any candidate, with 69% positive versus 58% for Biden. Compared to all Democrats, Buttigieg’s rank in conversation frequency among African Americans drops from fifth to ninth, and his positive drops from second to ninth. Whereas Klobuchar’s sentiment ranks fifth among all Democrats, she is last among African Americans. Both Klobuchar’s and Buttigieg’s sentiment is 22 points lower among African Americans than among all Democrats. Candidates who have more positive sentiment among African Americans than all Democrats include Yang who jumps from fourth to first, Biden who jumps from sixth to fourth, and Bloomberg who jumps from ninth to fifth. “African Americans are a key voting constituency in Democratic politics and their conversations are extremely important to monitor,” said Engagement Labs’ Ed Keller. “Sanders makes a very strong showing, belying the conventional wisdom that this group – which will be front and center in South Carolina – is Biden’s fire wall.” This Democratic Word-of-Mouth study was conducted via online interviews among 1,925 registered Democrats between January 8 and 9, 2020. Respondents reported on candidate conversations they participated in during the past seven days. ###   About Engagement Labs   Engagement Labs (TSXV: EL) is an industry-leading data and analytics firm that provides social intelligence for Fortune 500 brands and companies. The Company’s TotalSocial® platform focuses on the entire social ecosystem by combining powerful online (social media) and offline (word of mouth) data with predictive analytics.   To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.   For media inquiries please contact: Vanessa Lontoc, VP of Marketing Engagement Labs 732-846-6800 vanessa.lontoc@engagementlabs.com