Brand Election: A Different Perspective on the General Election from McCann Worldgroup UK

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And the outcome? The most trusted brands to lead the country are those that provide a truly meaningful role in their everyday lives. However, it's not just utility that distinguishes the winners from the losers - winners tend to be inspiring, innovative, and iconoclastic.

The brand chosen to lead the country is Virgin (18% of general public) -  a British-born brand and a global hybrid of television provider, airline, radio station, mobile telephone service, hotelier, etc. Fronted by a charismatic, British, self-made entrepreneur, Virgin leads for all segments of the population with the exception of Gen-Z who overwhelmingly voted for Google instead (21%).

This is not to say that global tech giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft do not generate support in this brand election amongst other demographics - in fact, the research showed a close nationwide tie between Google (14%), Apple (12%), Amazon (11%), and Microsoft (10%).

Interestingly, while the vote tally for any one brand does not result in a clear majority - the predominant nationwide view (58%) is that "brands must stand up for what they believe in". Brand should, however, be wary of making outright political statements - almost half of Brits believe that brands shouldn't get involved in making political statements (48%), while for another third this type of brand activism is unimportant. 

While this week's general election is clearly not a contest between brands, the results should provide insights not only for brands and marketers - but perhaps a few lessons for our politicians too - whoever the next leader of our country will be.