New data on the world's most popular consumer and media brands was today released by Famecount.com, reputed to be the world's first media measurement service to aggregate online popularity across multiple social media channels. In a study conducted on Wednesday 2 June 2010, Starbucks was found to be the world's most popular consumer brand with 7.4 million Facebook fans, 901 925 Twitter followers and 6509 YouTube subscribers resulting in a Famecount index of 69.7%. The world's top media brand was found to be Texas Hold 'Em, a game developed by Zynga, which has the world's most popular Facebook page with 19 million Facebook Fans, plus 135 234 Twitter followers and 1017 YouTube subscribers.
Famecount.com is capable of ranking brands by Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube popularity, as well as on an aggregated basis across all three platforms.
Starbucks led the list of leading consumer brands with an aggregated Famecount index of 69.7%, followed by Coca-Cola (53.7%), the whole Foods Market (48.4%), and Skittles (48.3%) with food and drinks brands accounting for 6 of the top 10 worldwide consumer brands. The highest ranked non-food & drinks consumer brand was found to be online shoe and clothing shop, Zappos.com, with a Famecount index of 46.3%. Red Bull, at 47.4%, is the only non-US brand to make the top 10.
| Top 10 Consumer Brands on Social Media | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked by Famecount Index Across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube* June 2nd 2010 Source: Famecount.com | ||||
| Brand | Facebook Fans | Twitter Followers | YouTube Subscribers | Famecount Index |
| Starbucks | 7,418,108 | 901,925 | 6,509 | 69.7% |
| Coca-Cola | 5,677,304 | 27,544 | 6,967 | 53.7% |
| Whole Foods Market | 256,832 | 1,762,983 | 1,346 | 48.4% |
| Skittles | 4,653,608 | 2,525 | 708 | 48.3% |
| Oreo | 4,585,138 | 1,399 | 7,393 | 48.1% |
| Red Bull | 4,059,216 | 45,849 | 68,275 | 47.4% |
| Zappos.com | 50,270 | 1,689,744 | 1,321 | 46.3% |
| JetBlue Airways | 216,029 | 1,599,302 | 319 | 46.0% |
| Dell | 174,170 | 1,563,748 | 3,897 | 45.3% |
| Woot | 17,547 | 1,631,340 | N/A | 45.3% |
*Formula based on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube fan data. Only Stars present on more than one network included. Index is relative to most popular worldwide aggregate social media entity, Lady Gaga, who carries a Famecount ranking of 100%. For full listing see Top 10 Consumer Brands on Social Media.
"This data is unique in that it gives us for the first time an accurate global ranking of the popularity of brands online," said Daniel Dearlove, founder of Famecount.com. "It is interesting to see established offline brands perform so strongly. This highlights the growing importance of social media in wider marketing campaigns, as well as the applicability of these channels to established brands, which may not have had a significant online presence previously. Social networks are helping them to tap into wider audiences and strengthen communications with existing consumers."
The study also examined the popularity of traditional and new-media brands across these three channels. Thanks to their phenomenal Facebook success, US developer Zynga sees two of its games, Texas Hold 'Em and Mafia Wars, lead the index with 98.2% and 78.5% respectively. Texas Hold 'Em also has the world's most popular Facebook page with 19m fans.
Facebook ranked third with a Famecount index of 71.1%, while Twitter - which does not have a dedicated YouTube channel - ranked fifth behind CNN (66.2%) with a Famecount index of 64.9%. Both outranked Google on an aggregated basis. The search giant recorded 1.3 million Facebook fans, 2.3 million Twitter followers, and 153,025 YouTube subscribers, resulting in a Famecount index of 61.9%. They also outranked iTunes, in 11th place with a Famecount index of 60.9%. The NBA is the world's top sports brand, with a Famecount index of 63.4%.
| Top 10 Media, Sport & Game Brands on Social Media | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked by Famecount Index Across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube* June 2nd 2010 Source: Famecount.com | ||||
| Brand | Facebook Fans | Twitter Followers | YouTube Subscribers | Famecount Index |
| Texas Hold 'em Poker | 18,951,978 | 135,234 | 1,017 | 98.2% |
| Mafia Wars | 12,104,521 | 86,149 | N/A | 78.5% |
| 9,501,519 | 242,535 | 799 | 71.1% | |
| CNN | 900,361 | 3,111,930 | 18,079 | 66.2% |
| 308,235 | 3,236,102 | N/A | 64.9% | |
| NBA | 2,455,805 | 1,894,574 | 182,184 | 63.4% |
| Family Guy | 7,971,670 | 7,958 | N/A | 63.2% |
| The Twilight Saga | 6,061,066 | 310,347 | 219,649 | 62.6% |
| 1,285,468 | 2,264,335 | 153,025 | 61.9% | |
| The Onion | 707,828 | 2,234,850 | 270,078 | 61.4% |
| Apple iTunes | 3,724,142 | 1,472,361 | N/A | 60.9% |
*Formula based on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube fan data. Only Stars present on more than one network included. Index is relative to most popular worldwide aggregate social media entity, Lady Gaga, who carries a Famecount ranking of 100%. For full listing see Top 10 Media, Sport & Game Brands on Social Media.
Famecount.com is an independent web application that uses API data from Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to track, and help people connect with, the most popular stars of the web. Famecount organises social media stars by country and category to help you identify the leaders on each network, and also produces a composite Famecount index based on relative popularity across all networks. The service can be accessed freely at: www.famecount.com.
