NEW YORK: Amazon, YouTube and Skype are some of the leading "breakaway brands" which have seen dramatic improvements in perception among US consumers, a study has revealed.

Landor, the consultancy, polled 15,000 people in each of the last three years, covering 48 metrics – like relevance, innovation, dynamism and distinctiveness – and 2,500 products and services. It then named the brands that saw the greatest growth in this period.

Facebook, the social network, led the charts, logging a 206% lift from 2008–11. In this time, its membership has expanded by 330%, with users spending 770bn minutes a month online, up from 33.9bn minutes.

"While the company has grown significantly in customer numbers, its more enduring success has been in customer engagement-creating more links and reasons to click," the study said.

Second place in the rankings went to Keurig, which makes single-serve coffee pods. It was praised for making fairtrade and recyclable products, and for donating 5% of pre-tax annual profits to good causes.

"In a world of overwhelming options, opinions and flavors, brands that simplify consumer experience without sacrificing access for choice continue to win consumers' hearts," the study said.

Skype, Microsoft's online telephony platform, claimed third, as ratings improved by 77%. One key driver of this trend was a marketing campaign presenting it as the "human alternative to purely digital interaction", Landor said.

Amazon, the ecommerce hub, came fourth, as totals rose by 76%. The popularity of its Kindle e-reader, titles for which outsold paperbacks in the US last year, and the fact the firm runs America's second largest online music site, behind iTunes, assisted this growth.

"By extending its straightforward design and markedly low price point, Amazon has been able to seamlessly add digital offerings for a holistic shopping experience," the report added.

Vizio closed out the top five, as its score jumped 66%. It leads the HDTV market despite only being founded in 2002, having explicitly focused on high quality and low prices. "Vizio delivers entertainment for everybody every day," Landor argued.

Other members of the top ten included Samsung, the electronics group, up by 63%, as was YouTube, the video-sharing platform. Netflix, the streaming service, came next, thanks to a 44% increase.

Completing the top ten were the US Marine Corps, up 43% due to "non-traditional brand building efforts" through social media in particular, and Apple, the electronics giant, which had a 42% increase.

Data sourced from Forbes; additional content by Warc staff