In its 18th year, the Sunday Times revealed this year’s results of its Top Brand survey, and it shows some pretty interesting trends on the part of South African consumers.

Taking the top spot in the Business Awards category was Vodacom, followed by Discovery, Business Day, and iPhone.

According to Times Media, these brands shows that due to a tough economic climate, consumers are not interested in trying new things, but have reverted back to their comfort zones:

The economic climate has meant that people are making smarter, more traditional brand choices. In the essential / staple food and drinks categories people are choosing brands that have a strong heritage that they trust and the old favourites continue to come out on top.

This thinking manifests slightly differently in the luxury and high spend categories where we see a rise of premium, high quality brands. It’s not about spending less in harder times, it’s about choosing brands that won’t disappoint.

In the Consumer Awards category, the top brand was Koo. The next three were Coca-Cola, KFC, and Shoprite.

Here are the top 10 for each:

The Overall Top Brands Grand Prix was awarded to Vodacom, with Woolworths scoring the Community Upliftment Grand Prix.

While I am more of an All Gold person, I would have to say that since most of these brands have been around – and reliable – since I was little, it’s good to know what you’re going to get.

I would rather spend my money on decent quality with a bit of a lifeline.

[source: businesstech]