THE STUDY

The method comprises three steps. The first two steps of the study results in the three hundred strongest consumer brands in Sweden, those that achieve Superbrand status. In the third step these brands are rank ordered. A more detailed description of the study is outlined below.

STUDY MODEL B2C 2010-2012

Step 1

GfK conducts a quantitative study, which also acts as a filter study. The 400 brands that received the highest total scores qualify for the assessment of the Brand Council in step 2.

Step 2

Superbrands jury (Brand Council) undertakes a qualitative assessment. The 400 nominees marks from step 1 are evaluated by 10 criteria. Which results in the 300 brands with maximum results designated as Superbrands in Sweden.

Brand Council is constituted with members, each with extensive experience from brand management. Each Brand Council member represents an industry of the Swedish market to make the survey as optimal as possible. The Brand Council members are not allowed to assess the brands that they represent or that they are direct competitors to.

Step 3

GfK conducts a quantitative analysis of 300 interviews of the top 100 Superbrands identified. Top 100 Superbrands receive a presentation of the results in a graph (BLOB) which is also published on the website.

STUDY MODEL B2C 2009-2011

Step 1

In the first step TNS SIFO Research International conducts a quantitative study in which Sweden’s 400 strongest consumer brands are identified. In the study TNS SIFO Research International lets their consumer panel assess each of the 2 300 brands nominated by Superbrands. In this assessment the consumer panel will take into account awareness and the overall impression of each brand.

Step 2

Superbrand´s Brand Council makes a qualitative assessment of the top 400 consumer brands identified by TNS SIFO Research International; the assessment is made by nine criteria. The 300 highest ranking brands receive Superbrand status. In the assessment, the Brand Council will apply the following definition of what constitutes a Superbrand:

»In comparison with competition, a Superbrand in the B2B/B2C offers a considerable emotional and/or rational advantage, a value added that the customer (consciously or non-consciously) wants, recognize and are willing to pay extra for. «

Step 3

In the third and last step, TNS SIFO Research International implements a deeper brand quantitative study leading to a ranking of the year’s 100 most powerful Superbrands. In the study, brand awareness and strength are measured, as are nine emotional image attributes. These image attributes are included in TNS SIFO Research International´s model. Step 3 results in 100 different graphs that are made official at the Superbrands Awards on the 26th of January 2010.

STUDY MODEL B2B 2008-2010

Step 1

TNS SIFO Research International conducted a study of 1 700 brands on the Swedish market. The analysis resulted in a list of 400 brands.

Step 2

Last year's Brand Council considered all the 400 brands in nine parameters on a scale 1-20 which finally resulted in a ranked list of the 300 brands that received Superbrand status.

All of the Superbrands were also divided into five different industries: "Industrial", "Service", "Finance", "Publisher/Journals" and "Construction/Property", in which we also nominated the strongest brand.

Step 3

In the third step an analysis based on an online survey was conducted by TNS SIFO Research International's Industry Panel. Respondents were answering questions for a number of brands (alt. 4-10 on a scale of 1-10). For each selected brand they had to answer a number of questions about the emotional and functional characteristics that the brands fulfilled. The graphs above shows the results of step 3.