British Airways wins battle of the brands for third year running

The old guard of traditional transport and manufacturing brands are at the top of the Superbrand 2016 survey, seeing off competition from younger and “sexier” technology companies.

British Airways outperformed 1,600 rivals to take the top spot for the third year in a row while watchmaker Rolex holds second place ahead of Lego and electronic goods specialist Dyson.

Apple is in seventh place while other leading technology brand Google is in 16th place and Amazon 19th. The previously revered but recently under fire BBC fell out of the top 20 for the first time.

“The rejection of the new for trusted, traditional brands continues to defy expectation that some challengers, such as technology enabled or social-based brands, would break through,” said Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis, which compiled the results on behalf of Superbrands UK.

“In fact the reverse is true, with conservatism evident among the British public after years of crisis. Although change may be accelerating in many markets, changes in perception are much slower to come through. Consumers are continuing to seek out familiar brands with which they have an emotional connection.”

“Heritage” brands such as Heinz, Jaguar and Marks & Spencer have all re-entered the top 20 although they have replaced other stalwarts such as Boots, BMW and Fairy washing up liquid.

The Superbrands list is based on a national survey of 2,500 adults.

Voters are asked to judge the brands on quality, reliability and distinction. Companies do not pay to be considered. The previous years’ lists show the way brands can quickly fall out of favour.

In 2013 second and third place behind Rolex was held by Apple and Microsoft respectively. Microsoft was still fourth last year but in 2016 was down to 20th while oil companies such as Shell and BP have not appeared in the top 20 for two and three years respectively.

John Lewis slipped eight places from 2015 while Boots and Andrex are out of the top 20 ratings completely. The only other airline in the senior rankings was Virgin Atlantic which came in at 17th.

The BBC is believed to have suffered from rows over the state broadcaster’s funding, perceived attacks on it by government and negative perceptions of the way it covered the Scottish independence debate.