According to data from YouGov BrandIndex – which monitors consumer perceptions toward brands daily – Samsung, webuyanycar.com, and KFC made the biggest gains in Ad Awareness in the UK for the month of August 2023.
Ad Awareness asks consumers if they have seen an advertisement for the brand in the past two weeks, and the difference between a brand's low and high scores for the month determines our Advertisers of the Month.
YouGov’s monthly analysis indicates that Samsung secured the top spot with a rise of 8.8 points in its Ad Awareness score this month. It jumped from 17.1% on July 26 to 25.9% on August 23.
A big month for the South Korean tech giant, August began with the launch of the Samsung Game Portal; a specialised online gaming store on Samsung.com, the portal is a one-stop platform for gamers from across 30 countries to purchase smartphones, TVs, gaming monitors and high-performance SSDs and to access fine-tuned gaming-related content.
The brand then announced the highly anticipated Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Watch6 series and Galaxy Tab S9 series on August 11. The launch of the new Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 was accompanied by more than a month-long nationwide selfie competition giving participants a chance to win £500,000.
The end of August saw the brand announce its partnership with members of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA), including LG Electronics and Vestel, which will enable consumers to control third-party smart appliances using the app of their choice, starting in Q4 2023. Samsung also shared its latest consumer research at IFA 2023, Europe’s largest tech trade show held annually in Berlin, and highlighted its vision for SmartThings – an app that allows users to control their homes from anywhere – and the integration of Samsung Food with Food AI and Vision AI.
In second place, webuyanycar.com saw its Ad Awareness score improve by 8.2 percentage points. Its score rose from a minimum of 25.6% on July 28 to a maximum of 33.8% on August 25.
The car buying service – established as an alternative to selling cars privately, to a dealership or through part-exchange and a part of the Constellation Automotive Group, the largest vertically integrated digital car marketplace in Europe – operates over 500 store locations in the UK and recently announced the opening of two new locations in England. One of the first of its kind for the brand, its latest store at Hatters Way Retail Park in Chaul End Lane, Luton, is fully self-sustainable, running off solar power, and is committed to a completely paperless sales process.
Webuyanycar also recently ran the “Kick-ups challenge”, a fun summer challenge with weekly prizes and a £150 voucher to be won. The uplift in the brand’s awareness can also likely be attributed to its collaboration with viral TikTok sensation Mufasa. The ad campaign remixes the popular Nightcrawlers 1992 hit Push the Feeling On, switching the lyrics from ‘It’s Friday then’ to ‘Just Sold My Car’.
Rounding up the top three Advertisers of the Month is KFC. The fast-food giant saw its Ad Awareness score move up 5.9 points, from 22.5% on July 30 to 28.4% on August 24.
The end of July saw the brand collaborate with TikTok sensation GK Barry for the launch of its Japanese-inspired Teriyaki burger and bites. The launch of the limited-edition KFC burger was accompanied by a traditional 30-second TV spot featuring GK Barry sharing her belief that the new burger should be renamed ‘The Barryaki’.
The fast-food corporation that opened a London pub to celebrate the 2022 Men’s World Cup has also made its first foray into the world of spirits with Dead Man’s Fingers. Teaming up with the Cornwall-based rum brand, KFC has crafted a limited edition 11 Herbed and Spiced Rum – a spirit that blends the rum’s Cornish flavours with KFC’s secret blend.
Available to pre-order from The Drop Store and Amazon from August 16 as a way to celebrate National Rum Day, the new serve’s launch was marked by a pop-up Chicken and Rum Shack in Margate on September 1 and 2. The pop-up offered fans the chance to sample the spirit, get their hands on free chicken and enjoy Dead Man’s Fingers-approved KFC cocktails including the Zinger Punch, The Colonel’s Colada and Fingers Lickin’ Good. KFC UK also recently witnessed a change in higher management, with Monica Pool, Taco Bell marketing director, being appointed as the new CMO for the brand.
Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. A brand’s Ad Awareness score is based on the question: “Which of the following consumer brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?” Data from surveys of adults aged 18 years and above residing in the US from July 26 to August 25, 2023. Ad Awareness scores are based on a four-week moving average. The change in scores for each brand is calculated by taking the difference between the highest and lowest scoring days within the period. Learn more about BrandIndex.
