This was published 13 years ago
What Apple, Hells Angels and Salvos have in common
By Clare Kermond
THE Salvation Army, a bikie gang and the global computer giant Apple have topped a new study into Australia's most effective brands.
According to research commissioned by the marketing consultants Bastion Brands, the Hells Angels, the Salvation Army and Apple topped the ranking of the most effective brands because consumers clearly understood what they believed in, felt they could belong to the brand and would change their behaviour for it.
A co-founder of Bastion, Simon Hammond, said the findings should encourage the many bland corporate businesses that lacked customer connection. "The great brands have a clearly understood belief, they enjoy a strong sense of belonging from their followers and they dramatically affect behaviour. Not all of these brands want to sell stuff - but they could."
The best corporate brands, such as Apple, Google, Virgin and Bunnings, were those that customers felt they could be a part of, he said.
''In pure branding terms, the Hell's Angels bikie gang is hard to beat. This is not a measurement of financial success or morality, but rather pure brand power. Business makes the mistake of ignoring the Hell's Angels, the Catholic Church or the Collingwood Football Club, but they hold strong lessons on how to build a true brand.''
The findings were based on more than 1000 interviews by the global research company THINK, followed by a qualitative review and evaluation based on the level of belief, belonging and potential behavioural change inspired by a brand.