Share of voice by industry sector

As with last year, the Technology and Consumer Electronics sectors lead the top ten (in terms of share of voice), but there are other areas which seem to be catching up and even, in some cases, overtaking them - including Media, FMCG and Automotive sectors.  

The Millward Brown BrandZ research recognises a ‘Technology Boom' as this sector "accounted for 28 out of the Top 100 brands, outperforming all other Categories in this year's BrandZ Ranking". Technology's brand value growth of $187.5bn also accounted for more than half of the top 100's total increase.

However, the IF Social media conversation figures show a broad split of sectors across the top 100 places. Even though Technology and Consumer Electronics make up a quarter of the rankings, many other sectors now have a strong presence.

As previously mentioned, the Automotive sector does well, with 13 brands, but it is Food & Drink (including fast food) that comes in second, with 15 brands involved. Again, Millward Brown recognises both these growth areas, with the Automotive sector experiencing a 7% growth - despite hikes in prices of crude oil and raw materials. The fast food sector also shows a very strong increase, of 27%, which Millward Brown puts down to "the introduction of healthier and higher quality alternatives to the menus of fast food restaurants".

The Financial Services sector, although not represented in IF's top 25, does have 12 brands in the top 100.

These results show that the public is having conversations about brands and products regardless of sector. This reflects the need for brands across the board to be aware of social media and to know who is saying what about them, to ensure they are not missing out on vital debates and potential key insights into consumer opinion.

The chart below provides a breakdown of the Interbrand Top 100 global brands' share of voice in social media, by industry sector. 

Brand conversation by industry sector (click to enlarge)