Siegel+Gale's Global Brand Simplicity Index

Global strategic brand consultancy Siegel+Gale today announced the launch of its fourth annual Global Brand Simplicity Index™, which evaluates the state, significance and impact of simplicity on brands. This year the research explores the relationship between simplicity and employee innovation more deeply.
 

Key findings include:
 

- In the UK and Germany and US alone, brands that offer increased simplicity stand to gain $50 billion in revenue
- 74 percent of UK consumers are more likely to recommend a brand because it provides simpler experiences and communications
- In the UK, 32 percent of consumers said they are willing to spend up to 6.1 percent more for a simpler experience
- A stock portfolio made from the publicly traded top 10 global simplest brands outperforms the major indexes
- The crucial link between simplicity and employee innovation—and the role of purpose—of 27 attributes that consistently describe companies where it's simplest to innovate, "understanding of" and "commitment to company purpose" rose to the top
 

Siegel+Gale’s 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index is an output of more than 500 brand ratings across 25 industries, based on a survey of more than 10,000 consumers in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Once the results were aggregated, Siegel+Gale used the data to generate two scores to measure simplicity: a Brand Simplicity Score and an Industry Simplicity Score.

 
“Our fourth annual survey reveals that both in the United Kingdom and on a global scale, consumers would pay more for simplicity,” said Philip Davies, Siegel+Gale’s President EMEA. “Experiencing simplicity at every touchpoint is key to brand success—inspiring deeper trust and greater loyalty from consumers. The 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index highlights that complexity is causing brands to leave significant money on the table and is a tangible illustration of the value of simplicity, reveals the percentage increase in price consumers said they would be willing to pay for simpler experiences by each brand included in the survey.”

 
The 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index™ Top 10 Brands in the UK

1 Amazon 848
2 McDonald's 848
3 First Direct 820
4 Premier Inn 807
5 ASDA 803
6 ALDI 799
7 Google 799
8 KFC 772
9 Virgin Atlantic 768
10 Lastminute.com 764
 

The 2013 Global Brand Simplicity Index™ Bottom 10 Brands in the UK

 
115 LinkedIn 464
116 ScottishPower 462
117 AXA PPP Healthcare 461
118 Prudential 456
119 Santander 448
120 SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) 438
121 British Gas 431
122 Allianz 429
123 npower 422
124 Ryanair 254
 

Simplicity, Purpose and Innovation

 
In 2012, Siegel+Gale explored how companies can make it easier for employees to innovate at work. Last year’s study uncovered that for employees, promoting innovative ideas was the second least simple thing to do in the workplace, just after asking for a raise. In other words, complexity kills innovation.
 

“We’ve further explored the link between simplicity and innovation this year and the data proves that a clear and meaningful purpose is a critical factor in creating a culture of innovation,” said Liana Dinghile, Siegel+Gale’s Director of Strategy EMEA. “According to our study, employees find it easiest to innovate when they understand what drives the company they work for and are committed to the difference they are making every day as part of that company.”
 

Simply Put
 

This year’s Global Brand Simplicity Index continues to demonstrate that in a world crowded with complexity, simplicity stands out. It brings clarity instead of confusion, and decision instead of doubt. The rewards are real—simplicity inspires greater loyalty in customers, makes innovation easier for employees and drives revenue for brands.
 

To learn more, visit http://simplicity.siegelgale.com/2013/