Finance brand index 2019 Q3

Please note: This is not the most recent brand index. If you’re right where you want to be, read on. If you’re looking for the latest data, click here for our most recent Brand Indexes. 

Every quarter we survey British consumers on their brand awareness and preferences in relation to the finance industry. Our latest insights into this industry can be found below. Plus, in Q1 of each year we dive deeper into the data to create an in-depth report on the state of the industry.

To jump straight to our 2019 finance brand index Report, click below:

Click to view research

To compile this quarter’s finance brand Index below, we looked at three things:

• Percentage of unprompted brand recall within the finance category
• How likely a person is to purchase each brand (purchase intent)
• How likely a person is to recommend each brand (Net Promoter Score)

Key changes in brand attributes

The uncertainty of Brexit affects few industries as dramatically as the finance sector. In particular, a no-deal Brexit could drive interest rates down to almost zero for ‘a prolonged period’. In the wake of this nation-wide issue, banks and financial providers will need to work harder than ever to win customers (and keep them) by offering perks and flexible plans.

The sector is also undergoing serious change following the growth of challenger brands including Monzo, Revolut and Starling. Last quarter Monzo became well-known enough to break into the top 10, but have they managed to retain their share of mind this quarter? Find out below.

Each quarter we ask consumers to rank the top 10 finance brands they’ve named in eight category-specific attributes. Here are the main winners, losers and movers this quarter:

• Nationwide continues to be the biggest winner for a second quarter, receiving the highest weighted ranking in four of the eight key attributes. They add the title as the brand offering the best flexibility in plans to their Q2 wins; having the most accessible locations, being the most reliable and the most trustworthy brand. 
• Barclays is also well-liked this quarter. The overall leader takes the title for offering the most innovative technology, and as offering the best perks to customers. Having received no high scores in Q2, this is a positive step for Barclays who are starting to be recognised for the right reasons, on top of being easily remembered by consumers. 
• Less well-liked is RBS. New to the leaderboard this quarter, they seem to have scored a share of mind for the wrong reasons; taking the lowest weighted ranking for reliability, trust, and memorable branding and adverts. 
• The poorest performer from last quarter, HSBC (who received the lowest weighted ranking for customer service, trust, memorable branding, innovative technology and offering perks), moves to the middle of the leaderboard, getting no last place positions this time around. 

Key takeaways

• The top and bottom of the leaderboard stay stable, with Barclays and Nationwide holding on to their top two positions, and MoneySuperMarket sitting firmly in 10th spot. The rest of the leaderboard experiences big shifts amongst the brands that stuck around from Q2 to Q3. 
• NatWest experiences the biggest drop, from 3rd place down to 6th thanks to a 2.5% decline in Unprompted Brand Recall, and halving their NPS over the last 3 months.
• Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Santander and HSBC each improve their ranking by one place. No brand improves their position by more than one place between Q2 and Q3. 
• RBS is the only newcomer to the leaderboard this quarter, entering in 8th position. As a result, Monzo drop from the top 10, even though they were well-liked in three of the key attributes last quarter. 

The full report

The report includes:

• The UK’s leading finance brands for awareness, purchase intent and Net Promoter Score
• Overall brand strength and total brand equity index
• Industry averages and market dynamics
• Key takeaways for the UK finance industry

The report is based on a nationally representative survey of 1000 people in the UK (aged 18+), surveyed in January 2019. 

Click to view research

Brand index methodology

The Attest brand index is a platform agnostic measure of a brand’s total brand equity in the health and wellness sector, as determined by real consumers.

What does that mean?

When we say ‘platform agnostic’, we mean the results are not influenced by any particular method of collecting them, like looking exclusively at social media mentions or at brand search terms. This reduces bias and gives us a more accurate view of a brand’s strength in their category.

Learn more about why we think this is the best methodology for brand intelligence.

Brand index data is gathered every quarter from a nationally representative survey to 1,000 UK consumers aged 18-65.