The brand agency Landor, has unveiled results of its ‘The 2011 breakaway Brands study’. According to the study, Facebook, Skype and YouTube are among the leading brands that have grown dramatically over the last three years.

Landor studied 2,500 brands in Young & Rubicam’s Brand AssetValuator, which combines data drawn from 15,000 consumers each year and 48 separate metrics to assess brand differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge, says Warc.

The study revealed that Facebook’s scores leaped by 195% during this period between 2007 and 2010. The social network now evolving into an all-purpose media platform making users forget other platforms like MySpace as Facebook’s usage levels have jumped from two hours a month three years ago to seven hours a month last year. In addition, Facebook doubled its first-half 2011 revenue.

Skype takes the second position in the rating. The brand purchased by Microsoft for $8.5bn in May 2011 has generated a 79% improvement.

Google’s YouTube jumped by 78%, ahead of Netflix, the online streaming service, on 72%.

Samsung with its totals of 66% outpaced Apple, which gained only 51% gain, just 1% stronger than its iTunes music service.

Amazon increased its popularity by 44% due to its ‘socializing’, which means its recommendation on software to customers and use of consumer reviews.

Reese’s, the confectionery brand, gained 42% between 2007 and 2010, due to simplified and successful ad campaigns.
The final Top-10 brand, the protection firm National Guard marked a 35% increase in its brand strength.

“This year’s Breakaway Brands share several things in common,” said Mich Bergesen, global director of financial services for Landor. “First, many are digital brands, a trend we’ve seen over the last few years of the study. We know consumers use digital brands extensively, but we believe based on this data, that they are becoming more integral to how we live, chronicle, and archive our lives Additionally, there’s a large group of heritage or category-creating brands. They were first in their category and have continued to set the pace for brands that follow.”