2012 - Annual UK Rankings | YouGov

Welcome to YouGov's BrandIndex Rankings for 2012. The Rankings compare BrandIndex Buzz scores for over 850 brands in 34 categories, to reveal the Top 10 UK brands with the best Buzz in 2012 as well as Top 10 most improved brands of the year.

All of the brands were rated using YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz scores. Buzz asks respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”. BrandIndex interviews 2,000 nationally representative respondents daily.

BBC iPlayer is the top-ranked brand for 2012, after coming in third on the UK’s Buzz Rankings in 2011. BBC iPlayer has overtaken Amazon and M&S since last year. Both John Lewis and MoneySavingExpert.com have jumped up the rankings, with John Lewis moving up three positions to second place, and MoneySavingExpert.com rising from eighth place to fourth. The Top 10 Buzz Rankings have also seen two new entries in 2012: BBC.co.uk in eighth place and Samsung in ninth.

#1 BBC iPlayer

This year the BBC’s on-demand service came into its own, powering the brand into the top spot. 2012 was the year iPlayer truly went mainstream and made the unmissable unmissable.

#2 John Lewis

John Lewis has had a good 2012 that has helped push it up three places in this year’s list. Britain’s largest department store chain announced record sales in the spring.

#3 Amazon

While Amazon has been knocked off the top spot, it is still at the top of its game with no sign of slowing down in 2013. Early in 2012 Amazon announced it had greatly exceeded profit projections.

#4 MoneySavingExpert.com

MoneySavingExpert.com has built on its success in 2011, pushing it into the top five on our list. It announced that revenue during the opening weeks of the 4th quarter was up 20% from the previous year.

#4 Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is one of Britain’s most enduring and loved brands, but it has had an uneven year that caused it to drop from #2 to #4 on our list.

#6 Apple iPad

Apple remains one of the great brands of the modern era, and although there are signs that the company is still struggling to find its feet post-Steve Jobs its robust ‘sub-brands’ still rank highly with consumers.

#7 Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s continued its steady rise in 2012, both exceeding profit projections and increasing its market share against the other ‘big four’ supermarkets.

#8 BBC.co.uk

The BBC’s online domain officially launched in 1997, and today is one of the most visited website’s in the world, remaining a reliable source for news, entertainment and of course Olympic coverage.

#9 Samsung

Tech giant Samsung has pushed its way onto the list this year, and the increased buzz around the brand will no doubt be noticed by its biggest rival, Apple.

#10 Cathedral City

Although its maker, Dairy Crest, posted its first annual loss in 2012, it would seem that less than rosy financial news has not dampened the positive buzz around Britain’s favourite cheese.