The UK’s CoolBrands are chosen by the Expert Council and members of the British public. Brands do not apply or pay to be considered. The entire selection process is independently administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis.

A comprehensive database of the UK’s coolest brands is compiled using a wide range of sources, from sector reports to blogs. From the thousands of brands initially identified, approximately 1,500 brands are short-listed. An independent and voluntary Expert Council scores this list, with members individually awarding each brand a rating.

The lowest-scoring brands (approximately 40%) are eliminated. A nationally-representative group of more than 2,100 UK consumers on the YouGov panel are asked to vote on the surviving brands. The opinions of the Expert Council (70 per cent) and the British public (30 per cent) are combined and the 500 highest-ranking brands are awarded ‘CoolBrand’ status.

Cool is subjective and personal. Accordingly, voters are not given a definition but are asked to bear in mind the following factors, which research has shown are inherent in a CoolBrand: style, innovation, originality, authenticity, desirability, uniqueness.

First place this year is taken by iconic car marque Aston Martin which has once again pipped computer giant Apple to the top spot for a second year running.

The survey found that women were just as impressed with technology brands as men, with 47% voting Apple their most popular tech brand while 44% voted for BlackBerry (who would have thought BlackBerry is still top-10-cool, considering the late downturn in terms of market share)

The only cool cultural venue in the top 20 was London’s Tate Modern gallery (19).

Interesting enough is the fact that technology is placed second as a category in the top 20 with 5 brands, just behind (sigh) Fashion with six, and ahead of automotive with 4.

But let’s see the final top:

1. Aston Martin
2. Apple
3. Harley-Davidson
4. Rolex
5. Bang & Olufsen
6. BlackBerry
7. Google
8. Ferrari
9. Nike
10. YouTube
11. Alexander McQueen
12. Dom Perignon
13. PlayStation
14. Ray-Ban
15. Chanel
16. Nintendo
17. Vivienne Westwood
18. Agent Provocateur
19. Tate Modern
20. Maserati

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The Top 10 UK brands according to the public looks like this:

1. Microsoft
2. Coca-Cola
3. Google
4. BBC
5. BP
6. British Airways
7. LEGO
8. Guinness
9. Mercedes-Benz
10. Cadbury

Is interesting that the parallel study with media and marketing experts on the independent Superbrands Council disagreed with the public, placing Google in the number one slot. Innovative brand Apple, its sub-brand iPod, car icon Mini and online auctioneers eBay completed the experts’ top five. Only three brands made both top tens, namely Google, the BBC and Coca-Cola. Here is the Expert’s Top 10:

1. Google
2. Apple
3. iPod
4. Mini
5. eBay
6. BBC
7. Coca-Cola
8. Red Bull
9. Tesco
10. Waitrose

More infos on Superbrands UK website

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