Pepsi has been named as the world’s most effective
brand in Effie Worldwide’s 2018 Effie Effectiveness Index, replacing
last year’s top brand Vodafone. Pepsi swapped places with the
mobile network, which dropped to fourth in the ranking. Pepsi also
overtook arch-rival Coca-Cola, which fell from second to third –
swapping places with McDonald’s.
The rest of the top 10 brands
was made up of Movistar, IBM, KFC, Chevrolet, Mastercard, Burger King,
Poker and Sr Toronjo, with the last three of these tied for tenth place.
Pepsi’s
parent company PepsiCo was also recognized in the most effective
marketer category, rising from fifth to second – behind only Unilever,
which retained its place at the top of the list. It is the fifth time
since the ranking began in 2011 that the FMCG giant has been named most
effective marketer.
Procter & Gamble, however, fell from
third to sixth – marking the first time since 2011 the Gillette and
Pampers owner did not make the top five.
Elsewhere Nestlé fell
one place to third, and The Coca-Cola Company, which topped the list in
2016, held on to fourth place. Mars broke into the top five for the
first time, in fifth place, with AB InBev, Heineken, McDonald’s and
Vodafone completing the top ten.
Among agency networks, McCann
Worldgroup climbed to number one, unseating BBDO Worldwide, which fell
one place. Ogilvy, DDB, OMD, Y&R, Leo Burnett, Grey, MullenLowe, and
TBWA completed the top ten.
Sancho BBDO, based in Bogota,
Colombia, was named the most effective agency. While 13 countries were
represented in the top 20 of this category, there were no UK agencies –
with Hungary, Romania, and Turkey the only European countries to appear
in the top 20.
The ranking of the most effective agency holding
groups was unchanged from last year, with WPP topping the list, followed
by Omnicom, IPG, Publicis Groupe and Dentsu.
The 2018 Effie
Index is compiled from 3,476 finalists and winning entries from
worldwide Effie Awards competitions between during 2017, with brands,
marketing and agencies receiving points for each Grand Effie, Gold,
Silver, Bronze and finalist place they achieve.
Traci Alford,
president and chief executive of Effie Worldwide, said: “The Global
Effie Index has become the gold standard for measuring marketing
effectiveness throughout the world.
“Despite a rapidly changing
landscape, Effie winners continue to create exceptional work, deliver
results in all forms and drive growth for their businesses. The
top-ranked teams represent the very best of our industry, and we offer
them our sincerest congratulations.”