TODAY

The first Digital Brand Index (DBI), released today, demonstrates the fascination of Singapore netizens in all things technology – with a mention of a major technology brand every two minutes – on some of Singapore’s largest online sites. Developed by Edelman and derived from Brandtology data, the DBI found:

· SingTel (over 9,000) and Google (over 6,000) topped the rankings by way of volume of conversations.
· Canon (4.0) led the scoreboard by way of average engagement ahead of competitor and second ranked Sony (2.4).
· Nearly 75,000 online conversations pertaining to 58 large technology brands, monitored between July and September 2009.
· While a number of examples of brands engaging with bloggers were found over the three month research period, no proactive examples of engagement with forums or news sites, which constitute 91.8 per cent of all conversations monitored could be found.
· The HardwareZone Forum, Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, is the centre of gravity for mentions of technology brands – with 10,308 mentions found (13.8 per cent of total).

Sanjay Nair, Director for the Technology Practice, Edelman Southeast Asia, said: “Technology and gadgets have always been close to Singaporean’s hearts – both online and offline. At a time when marketing efficiency remains a rallying-cry, brands need to do more to move towards the ‘sweet spot’ where engagement meets efficiency. Edelman’s Digital brand index provides the much needed industry benchmark for companies aspiring to lead the digital marketing wave.”

Buzz versus Engagement

The traditional concept of quantity versus quality applies as much in the social media universe as it does in traditional media. However, the DBI takes this further by recommending two core indices which marketers can use to measure the impact of their online engagement strategy:
· Conversation Index: Ratio of individual instances of online branded conversations, versus the average instances of conversation for all brands locally – Indicates share of voice amongst consumers online.

· Channel Index: Ratio of total number of online channels (including social networking sites, forums, blogs and news sites) where comments about a brand are found, versus the average number of channels with comments for all brands locally. This is indicative of efficiency of channel engagement and targeting.

By calculating average engagement, the DBI also provides an indicative gauge of advocacy by measuring the average comments per unique person who talks about a brand.

“What’s just as interesting to observe from the DBI is the large technology brands that did not make the Top 10 list, “said Eddie Chau, Founder & CEO of Brandtology. “Influential channels and voices online are being ignored, and low Engagement Index scores signal a clear opportunity for brands to roll their sleeves up, get more involved and create more compelling social media content to increase their buzz factor.”

Survey Methodology
The DBI was conducted across 8 key markets in the Asia Pacific region, namely, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Produced on a quarterly basis, the Asia Pacific Digital Brand Index monitors key brands from the following broad categories: Internet and Software, Consumer Electronics, Mobile and Telecommunications, Business and Consulting and IT and Technology, and analyzed across a list of popular online channels which includes influential blogs, forums, and online news outlets.