Although the index focuses on consumer mentions and reactions -- as opposed to indexing brand engagement via social media -- the list is still a veritable powerhouse of information in terms of consumer buzz and word-of-mouth recommendations.
So who tops the list? iPhone, Disney, CNN, MTV, NBA, iTunes, Wii, Apple, Xbox and Nike rounded out the top 10 in 2009, respectively.
We also learn from Vitrue's blog post on the list that Adidas was the biggest gainer, jumping up from the number 85 slot in 2008 to take over the number 14 spot in 2009. NBA, Nike, MLB, Nissan, Victoria's Secret, HP and KFC also showed significant improvement from the previous year.
Some other interesting findings from Vitrue include:
- Game consoles dominate the top of the list: (Wii #7, Xbox#9, PlayStation #13, Nintendo #21)
- Luxury brands appear on the list this year with good representation: (Gucci #27, Louis Vuitton #81, Prada #88 and Burberry #94)
- Media brands make up 8 percent of list: (CNN #3, MTV #4, ESPN #23, CBS #32, ABC #33, Turner #36, Fox News #56, NBC #68) This perhaps illustrates our socialization of their content
Vitrue's Top 100 social brands for 2009:
1. iPhone
2. Disney
3. CNN
4. MTV
5. NBA
6. iTunes
7. Wii
8. Apple
9. Xbox
10. Nike
11. Starbucks
12. NFL
13. PlayStation
14. Adidas
15. BlackBerry
16. Sony
17. Mercedes
18. Microsoft
19. Samsung
20. BMW
21. Nintendo
22. Best Buy
23. ESPN
24. Ford
25. Honda
26. Ferrari
27. Gucci
28. Nokia
29. Major League Baseball
30. Dell
31. Coca-Cola
32. CBS
33. ABC
34. iPod
35. Mac
36. Turner
37. Nissan
38. Toyota
39. eBay
40. Amazon
41. Victoria’s Secret
42. Nutella
43. NASCAR
44. Disneyland
45. Audi
46. NHL
47. Red Bull
48. Verizon
49. Intel
50. Subway
51. Hewlett-Packard
52. Puma
53. Kia
54. Fox News
55. Porsche
56. Jeep
57. Dodge
58. Pandora
59. Walmart
60. Zappos
61. Suzuki
62. McDonald’s
63. Krystal
64. T-Mobile
65. Skittles
66. KFC
67. Volkswagen
68. NBC
69. Sprint
70. Pixar
71. Motorola
72. IKEA
73. Pepsi
74. Cisco
75. REI
76. LG
77. AT&T
78. Converse
79. The Gap
80. Chevrolet
81. Luis Vuitton
82. Toys”R”Us
83. H&M
84. Philips
85. General Motors
86. Pringles
87. Visa
88. Prada
89. Panasonic
90. IBM
91. VH1
92. Hulu
93. Oracle
94. Burberry
95. SEGA
96. Sears
97. Avon
98. Jet Blue
99. Lacoste