Google’s Legal Woes Not Impacting Brand: Survey

Google has had its share of negative press coverage over the past year. And one of the questions that reporters always ask is: how will this scandal or that investigation impact the perception or usage of Google in the market?

In other words, does something like the WiFi privacy scandal in Europe or the antitrust investigation against Google affect “ordinary users”? Does it make them less trusting of Google or tarnish the Google brand in some way?

The answer would appear to be: not at all.

Evidence comes in the form of an international “brand desire” survey of 17,000 people by ad agency M&C Saatchi/Clear. The respondents were drawn from multiple countries, including the UK, Germany, US, Singapore and China.

There are lots of segments that prefer different brands for different reasons. And top brands change by country in the survey results. Globally, however, the top three brands emerging from the survey are:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. BMW

The full report is available on this site.

Previous surveys have shown Google to consistently be one of the world’s leading brands.

Related posts:

• Google Named Top Global Brand — Again
• Survey Says: Google Top Brand In UK
• Guess Who Is The Top Global Brand Again? You Got It! Google

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.