Twenty brands have earned another reason to celebrate the New Year and revel in their past successes. This morning we announced the top performing brand for each of twenty of the most competitive categories. These brands achieved their status through a variety of creative strategies. Because we score every ad, every day, the same way, we are able to mine all the ads scored this year (nearly 7,000, by the way) and determine the path that led these brands to top their industries. Likewise, we know how a brand eluded the crown. While I’d love to give you all the insightful details that this past year of advertising generated, I’ll leave you with a snapshot of the Brand of the Year winners and a glimpse into each of their 2014 television video portfolios.
Only five brands maintained their 2013 titles: Google, Baskin-Robbins, Longhorn Steakhouse, Reebok and Netflix. Introductory brands Bud Light Lime-A-Rita and LifeLock swept their categories from staid advertisers who themselves turned out high performance work.
Several of the winning brands achieved notable year-over-year increases in their average Ace Score – not only outperforming their category competitors but besting their 2013 performance. Most significantly, Budweiser with a 17 percent year-over-year increase, followed by Cheerios and Baskin-Robbins, both at 15 percent, Colgate at 13 percent and Mr. Clean at 12 percent.
The winning brands listed below achieved their success by drawing power from particular creative attributes and persuasive components. In looking at the ad personalities of each brand’s top-scoring ads, we have identified a common force that powered the brand’s path to Brand of the Year. Click through each brand to learn more about its particular portfolio of ads.
Click the logos below to read more details about that brand’s 2014 campaign performance.
Category |
Brand of the Year |
| Apparel & Footwear |  |
| Luxury Auto |  |
Non-Luxury Auto |
 |
| Beer |  |
| Non-Alcoholic Beverages |  |
| Spirits, Flavored Malts & Wine |  |
| Candies & Snacks |  |
| Financial Services |  |
| Household |  |
| Insurance |  |
| Packaged Foods |  |
| Personal Care |  |
| Restaurants |  |
| Quick Service Restaurants |  |
| Retail |  |
| Technology Hardware |  |
| Mobile Devices | |
| Software & Websites |  |
| Video Games & Consoles |  |
| Telecom & Television Services |  |
For more details on these winning brands or to discuss your own brand and category, contact us today.
