Though Memorial Day marks the start of summer for many Americans, July 4th is the official holiday of summer. The annual ranking of the most patriotic brands has landed as we approach the holiday, and Jeep has again taken the top spot.
The survey ranks brands from all sectors of the economy, but Jeep has dominated the listing for 23 years, reaching the number-one position every year since Brand Keys started the survey in 2002. Second on the list is Ford Motor Company, but no other auto brands made it into the top 50.
The remaining top ten patriotic brands include Levi Strauss, Coca-Cola, Disney, Walmart, Harley Davidson, Apple, Jack Daniels, and Amazon. It’s interesting that tech brands made the top ten, but historic companies like Hershey’s (number 11) did not. Ralph Lauren, whose logo contains an American flag, was 12.
Brand Keys polled 7,460 consumers aged 18 to 65. Respondents were balanced for gender and political affiliation, and the survey included 1,381 brands across 143 categories. The company evaluated responses based on its “independently validated emotional engagement measures,” which it said identifies how well brands resonate with “the value of patriotism.”
As Brand Keys pointed out, the nation is particularly divided politically, which has trickled down to the brands that people most associate with their country. That said, 80 percent of respondents said patriotism was a big deal, saying it was extremely or very important. Brands that look to patriotism as a strategy may see a payoff, as Brand Keys noted that they see better bottom lines, to the tune of six times better than other companies.
[Images: Jeep, Ford]
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