The "Meh" List
01.16.2025
Instead of choosing a brand to be on the naughty or nice list, I wanted to see the data behind either. So, I turned to our love/hate scalar and discovered something worse than the “naughty” list. The “meh” list.
Looking at data from the latest 2024 BAV US study, it is very apparent that, in reality, very few consumers actually hate brands.
Using a proprietary seven-point scalar question (1=hate, 4= neutral, 7 = love), our analysis revealed that only 14% of US Consumers could be said to dislike or even hate any brand (scores 3 or below). While the good news for most brands owners is that the majority of consumers (52%) either positively like or even love them (scores 5 or above).
However, what stands out is that a third of consumers (the highest single score across the spectrum) neither love nor hate any brand they were asked to rate (form over 3,900).
These brands do not trigger a strong emotional response in either direction; in essence, they have been “meh” listed!
This is bad news for those brands, as surprisingly this neutrality is even worse than being hated!
However, what is interesting to note is that the brands that have the most hatred aimed at them tend to perform better on a range of advocacy and price premium metrics than those that are neither hated nor loved i.e. the brands most hated perform less badly than those that have been landed on the “meh” list.
Oscar Wilde famously said, “there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
The same clearly could be said about brands. So, every brand needs to be its authentic self and not try to please everyone (an impossible task anyway). As the risks attached to merely sitting on the fence clearly outweigh any perceived brand benefits you may feel exist.
Want to be sure your brand stays off the "meh" list?
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Author: John Keaveney,
WPP Advisor | VMLY&R Global Managing Director, Analytics and Insights
John is a Global Managing Director of Analytics & Insights for VML but also serves as a Global Advisor to WPP on all topics related to BAV and the Best Countries report.
He is a highly analytical thought leader with over 20 years of consultancy. Not only has he worked on projects for some of the world’s most recognized brands, he has also given advice to a number of politicians and trade ambassadors over the years. This has led him to speak at various political venues, including the UK’s House of Commons, The Leading Brands of Spain Forum, City Hall, The Foreign, commonwealth and Development office, and the US Embassy.
However, these days his main work interest today is around innovation; from devising new types of metrics and methodologies, to new types of analyses and products (especially in the areas of CX and Social).
Prior to joining VML, John worked at several smaller creative agencies for a short time, including Bartle Bogle Hegarty, although his very first job after graduating was in media.
John has a BSc in Engineering with Business from King’s College London as well as a Masters Degree in Applied Statistics. He has also been on the WPP Mini-MBA program that covered such topics as strategy, leadership etc.
Opinion Party (Vol 4): Naughty or Nice
This article is from the fourth volume of "Opinion Party" from BAV Group, a collection of points-of-view from our brand experts, focusing on exploring what it means to be a naughty or nice brand and which brands landed on which list this year.