In its third annual Cultural Traction™ 2013 report, the brand development and marketing consultancy Added Value has ranked a total of 160 brands from 15 industries to measure their cultural vibrancy and define which of them better used the culture-led marketing strategies to stay more relevant to consumers. By culturally vibrant brands Added Value’s experts mean those brands that are perceived to have the most Visionary, Inspiring, Bold and Exciting (VIBE-index).

For the research, more than 62,000 respondents across ten major geographical markets—the US, China, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong and Singapore—have been surveyed. While results may vary depending on the country, the following brand names lead the global top 10 chart:

1. Google
2. Apple
3. Samsung
4. IKEA
5. Microsoft
6. Sony
7. BMW
8. Audi
9. Coca-Cola
10. eBay

Рic. Screenshot of the interactive global ranking of the top 10 culture-led brands, Cultural Traction™ 2013 report

The visualized interactive ranking can be viewed by various categories, ranging from country, age and sex of the respondents, and can be also ranged from highest-to-lowest (and vice versa) and by alphabet, too. Users can also view which brands in the ranking have the most of VIBE attributes. For instance, Google has become the most inspiring and exciting brand (with 118.9 and 149.4 points, respectively), while Apple has been ranked the most visionary and bold (118.8 and 121.8 points, respectively).

As it turns out, tech brands managed to establish stronger VIBE-oriented connection with their consumers since six companies from the top 10 list belong to the tech world. Apparently, automobile brands have a good cultural image, too, with the two auto making companies—Audi and BMW—neighboring on the top 10 list.

The rating has another valuable feature—it allows to sort brands by Leading Edge to see which of them attract consumers who are most likely to drive and adopt new trends, and compare the difference in VIBE scores between the Leading Edge and the mainstream. Globally, Johnnie Walker won this race despite the fact that alcohol brands were reported to be getting less culturally relevant to the consumers.

Added Value has revealed the ranking along with some detailed study’s findings at the dedicated Cultural Traction website.

“Today, more than ever, it is critical that brands stay apace of culture. Why? Because as much as consumers can tell you about how the world is changing, the world can often tell you a lot more about the consumers of tomorrow,” says Maggie Taylor, Chief Executive of Added Value (North America). “It’s one thing to be a culturally vibrant brand in one part of the world; it’s another to maintain that vibrancy at high amplitude across the whole world.”