The FutureBrand Index 2023

The FutureBrand Index 2022

QRi Consulting are proud to be FutureBrand’s global research partner for the FutureBrand Country Index 2022, launched on the 28th September 2022. 

The FutureBrand Index is a global perception study that reorders PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation on perception strength rather than financial strength, offering a unique insight into how future-proof the world’s most prominent companies actually are.

Now in its eighth year, the FutureBrand Index is based on rigorous research with a global sample of over 3,000 informed professionals.

Prior FutureBrand Indexes have conclusively demonstrated that the organisations which lead the FutureBrand Index have a measurable competitive advantage, in part due to their standing on national and international stages.  Time and time again, the FutureBrand Index reveals that financial strength does not necessarily translate into perception strength and that, as a result, the findings can often be surprising.

This year’s FutureBrand Index reveals that B2B companies – particularly those which are building the infrastructure and platforms on which human life will thrive in the future – have continued their march to the top of the ranking.

For the first time since our research began, Apple has fallen out of the Top Five. Who has edged it out? Companies, predominantly in Asia which are focusing on future innovation in sectors such as renewable energy.

The FutureBrand Index also reveals an imperative to focus on the ‘E’ within ESG to credibly address the growing threat that climate change poses for both business and the planet.

Amongst all the upheaval, there’s also a surprising success story. Meta Platforms – following a much debated rebrand in late 2021 – has found itself in the Top Five, replacing Apple as one of the last consumer-facing organisations at the very top of the ranking.

The 2022 report also provides a new ranking for the companies who are perceived to be ‘recession-proof’ – of particular interest to business leaders as we approach a global economic downturn.

Click here to download report: https://www.futurebrand.com/futurebrand-index-2022/download

The FutureBrand Index 2021

QRi Consulting are proud to be FutureBrand’s global research partner for the FutureBrand Country Index 2021, launched on the 1st September 2021. 

The FutureBrand Index is a global perception study that reorders PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation on perception strength rather than financial strength, offering a unique insight into how future-proof the world’s most prominent companies actually are.

Now in its seventh year, the FutureBrand Index is based on rigorous research with a global sample of over 3,000 informed professionals.

Prior FutureBrand Indexes have conclusively demonstrated that the organisations which lead the FutureBrand Index have a measurable competitive advantage, in part due to their standing on national and international stages.  Time and time again, the FutureBrand Index reveals that financial strength does not necessarily translate into perception strength and that, as a result, the findings can often be surprising.

Key insights from the FutureBrand Index 2021:

  1. Looking beyond the pandemic:  This year’s FutureBrand Index reveals that today’s thriving companies are those that prioritise innovation to impact individual well-being and drive change for good at scale. This means a significant opportunity for the companies that create the platforms and infrastructures on which human life can thrive into the future.
  2. Technology leads the way: Technology brands dominate the FutureBrand Index 2021, with three of this year’s Top Five coming from this sector.
  3. Healthcare continues to surge: Healthcare companies continued to build on last year’s success, with the public increasingly perceiving them as indispensable for future innovation.
  4. A renewed focus on the pleasure factor: Feeling good and the pursuit of simple pleasures has proved important to consumers during a year of uncertainty and crisis.
  5. B2B Companies becoming ‘household’ names: B2B companies that in previous FutureBrand Indexes were seen lower down the list have surged forward. Traditionally behind-the-scenes Tech and Pharma brands have become “household” names as society focuses on the innovation which will leads us out the pandemic

Click here to download report: https://www.futurebrand.com/futurebrand-index-2021

FutureBrand Country Index 2020

QRi Consulting are proud to be FutureBrand’s global research partner for the FutureBrand Country Index 2020 launched today 12th November 2020.

The FutureBrand Country Index 2020 is the most comprehensive and only one of its kind, conducted six months into the global coronavirus pandemic.

In a world where little seems certain, the news cycles are dominated by the worst healthcare crisis in living memory, and many countries are riven by political division, it’s easy to assume that country brands have withered on the vine.

It is 12 months since the FutureBrand Country Index was last published but, in that period, life as we know it has been turned on its head. Every day brings new headlines that report poor management of Covid-19 cases and floundering governments, as well as an exodus from cities and dissatisfaction with lockdowns and social distancing.

But what if the 24/7 news agenda doesn’t reflect what real people think and feel?  The FutureBrand Country Index 2020 reveals just that: our carefully considered research found that a country’s brand is deeply resilient, even at a time when so much seems temporary and changeable.

As nations adjust to the ‘new normal’, there has never been a better – or more important – time to examine the value of a country’s brand and determine what makes it robust in the eyes of the world.  These are strange and challenging days but many countries are standing firm, not least those we might have expected to falter and fall.

How do we know this?  Well, while countries have traditionally been measured and judged on factors such as population size and GDP, in the FutureBrand Country Index we look beyond obvious statistics, using our bespoke QualiQuant® Methodology.  The Index scrutinises where people want to live, visit, invest in, and buy goods and services from.  Quality of life is crucial and its value system is key.

In short, there’s a reality gap between what the headlines tell us and what we, as nations, actually believe.

Click here to download report: https://www.futurebrand.com

The FutureBrand Index 2020

QRi Consulting are delighted to be collaborating again with FutureBrand on the FutureBrand Index 2020 which was launched today.

Now in its sixth year and fifth iteration, the FutureBrand Index is a global perception study that reorders PwC’s Global Top 100 Companies by market capitalisation on Brand Perception Strength, rather than financial strength.

Over the past six years QRi have spoken to a global sample of 15,000 informed professionals from 17 countries who were aware of and know something about at least seven of the top 100 companies of that year.

Click here to download report:  https://www.futurebrand.com/futurebrand-index-2020/

Country Brand Report Latin America 2019/2020

QRi are proud to be FutureBrand Latin America’s global research partner for the LATAM Country Brand Report 2019/2020 launched beginning June 2020. Click here to download report: https://www.futurebrand.com/country-brand-report-latin-america-2019-2020.

The study interviewed 2,000 frequent travellers across 17 countries, using our QualiQuant® methodology.

FutureBrand Country Index 2019

QRi Consulting are proud to be FutureBrand’s global research partner for the FutureBrand Country Index 2019 launched recently. https://t.co/zkCjNQmffd

Qualitative Research for Not-for-profit organisations

Last week the ESOMAR Foundation hosted the third webinar of the series Qualitative Research for Not-for-profit organisations. The webinar focused on examining and showcasing how different forms of qualitative research can be used to help support non-profit organisations.

The online event was hosted by Phyllis Macfarlane (GFK & Esomar Foundation) and featured Simon Patterson, Founder and CEO at QRI Consulting and Philly Desai of UK-based international development consultancy Turnstone Research.

ESOMAR Foundation Article

FBI Index 2018/2019

QRi Consulting are delighted to be collaborating again with FutureBrand who have launched the FutureBrand Index 2018/2019. Listen to podcast

Mindfulness

Dubbed the ‘Now’ Age, alternative lifestyles, through greater awareness, new platforms, apps, stores, and brands have gained momentum leading to a rise in agnostic spirituality in the mainstream. Mindfulness is an example of an alternative philosophy being increasingly practiced in the West, having been adapted from Ancient Eastern Traditions. As with many lifestyle paths, there is an individual element and a collective element. Individuals practice Mindfulness as a part of their daily lives, but some companies are also practicing Mindfulness by encouraging it on an individual level. Research suggests that practicing Mindfulness is beneficial to the practitioner, so are the companies feeling the same benefits as the individual?

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness, the ancient Buddhist meditation practice, has become a hot topic in Psychology recently. This 2,500 year old practice can be briefly defined as a focus on the present; individuals have a tendency to ruminate about the past and/or rush towards the ‘ungraspable’ future which never materialises. Not being fully present can lessen ability to consciously participate in the present moment and distort perceptions of reality.

Practitioners notice the physical sensations in their body during meditation and the swirling thoughts in their brain. Using non-judgmental awareness of the present, the aim is to observe these sensations without reacting to them. Meditators gradually recognise the fleeting nature of sensations, including pain, anger and frustration. Over time, practitioners learn to quiet the mind and can result in individuals who are less agitated, more focused and easier to work with.

Who Practices Mindfulness?

Aside from the discussions in Psychology circles, Mindfulness has become a buzzword and it is expanding out into the Business world of Industrial Psychology. Large companies, such as General Mills in the USA, have adopted mindfulness practices, and openly encourages employees to practice it by equipping their buildings with meditation rooms, as well as yoga facilities, all designed to reduce stress, and train the mind to be more focussed, clear, creative, and connected. Google offers a course to its employees called “search inside yourself” which was so popular the company created entry-level versions such as “neural self-hacking” and “managing your energy”.

Mindfulness is a growing movement, even being practiced in some schools through the ‘Mindfulness in Schools Project’, which is managed in collaboration between psychologists at Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and Bangor universities.The benefits of practicing mindfulness seem to be clear, and many large and successful businesses are adopting the practice.

Does all this mindfulness do any good?

There is evidence that suggests that some of its techniques can provide psychological and physiological benefits. Practicing mindfulness can improve self-regulatory efficacy via “neuro-plastic changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, temporo-parietal junction, fronto-limbic network, and default mode network structures” (Shonin et al. 2015). To put it simply, mindfulness can cause neuro-plastic changes in neural pathways, which is generally (but tentatively as much of the research is dependent on self-report measures rather than clinical diagnostic interviews) agreed by psychologists to be a good thing as it can cause:

Greater self-awareness and emotional self-regulatory capacity

Modification of immune pathways

Greater levels of relaxation

Greater control over stress

Increased compassion

Better moods

Growth in spiritual awareness

Cynics might argue that a walk in the countryside has similar benefits. But it’s not unreasonable to suppose that, in a world of constant stress and distraction, sitting still and relaxing might do some good.

As Schumpeter of the Economist observes, “the biggest problem with mindfulness is that it is becoming part of the self-help movement—and hence part of the disease that it is supposed to cure. Gurus talk about “the competitive advantage of meditation”. Pupils come to see it as a way to get ahead in life. Western capitalism seems to be doing rather more to change eastern religion than eastern religion is doing to change Western capitalism.”

But if it does help relax and focus the mind, and therefore improve the performance of individuals and corporations, then is that such a bad thing?

The QRi Team x

References

Shonin, E. et al. (2015) Mindfulness in psychology – a breath of fresh air? The Psychologist 28 (1): 28-31

The Mind Business, The Financial Times Magazine

JWT: The Future 100

The mindfulness business: Western capitalism is looking for inspiration in eastern mysticism, The Economist