The research, which was carried out by Energy PR among over 100 top marketers, identifies what it takes to create a great tech brand and what more is needed if it’s to be loved.

According to the marketing experts, contrary to popular opinion, being original isn’t that important when it comes to greatness. Despite the success of brands such as Apple and Tesla, only 17 percent of marketers think that uniqueness is important, and just 1 in 10 (11%) believe a brand’s greatness is determined by its level of innovation.

Instead, they argue the key ingredients for greatness are trust (60%) and how a brand makes a consumer feel (58%). These out-perform even practical considerations such as customer support (34%) and value for money (33%).

Even if a brand achieves greatness, this is no guarantee that it will be loved according to the Brand Love report. To be loved involves a greater level of intimacy; over half of the marketers studied suggest a loved brand is aligned to the customer’s values (55%), indeed it must be part of their life according to 42%. Over a third (38%) went further, adding that such a brand needs to be closely tied with the customer’s identity.

Interestingly, the list of brands that marketers feel 100% committed to is dominated by tech brands, with Apple and Samsung all appearing in the top 10.

Louise Findlay-Wilson, Managing Director of Energy PR, which conducted the study commented: “It is easy to understand why a brand like Apple tops the list when it comes to commitment, when we consider that according to our marketers, a loved brand becomes part of someone’s identity and life. Apple historically very cleverly aligned its laptops and computers as the tech of choice for people who identify themselves as ‘creatives’, fundamentally linking the brand with their sense of creative identity.”

The Brand Love report also identifies intriguing quirks of consumer behaviour which tech brands must consider. Firstly, many could be mistaking apathy for loyalty as according to the study on average consumers are incredibly apathetic - willing to tolerate an average of two mistakes from even an ordinary brand before being compelled to shop around. This passivity could be enabling a lot of inferior customer service to go unpunished. The flip side is that once such passive customers are eventually lost, winning them back will be incredibly difficult.

Brand Love also identifies a ‘recommender gene’ which some people simply do or don’t have, and which will overrule how they feel about a brand; for instance, even among the consumers who love a brand, 10% will still not recommend it (or any other). Contrarily 30% of people who are not that committed to any brand will still happily recommend brands to others.

When it comes to the most common mistakes brands make on the path to greatness and love, these centre around neglecting the feelings of customers by focussing solely on new customers (58%), forgetting current customers (54%), being inconsistent with messaging (28%), failing to understand customers properly (28%) and not being authentic (27%).

Louise Findlay-Wilson concluded: “Other tech brands can learn plenty from our research. A key take away is that the best brands aren’t necessarily great innovators, but, if you read between the lines, they are all great communicators. Without communications you will struggle to demonstrate your values or become part of someone’s life and identity.

"Communications are an effective way to show customers you ‘get them’, you care and to make them feel good. And once the customer loves you, those communications are still crucial. As our research shows, a consumer may tolerate a brand they love messing up, but they won’t tolerate it neglecting them in favour of new customers. That’s a massive betrayal of that all-important trust. That’s why great communications remain key.”

The brands the 100 top marketers love the most are:

1. Apple
2. Nike
3. Adidas
4. Sky
5. Samsung
6. L’Oréal
7. Amazon
8. E.on
9. Tesco
10. Asda

To download your copy of the Brand Love report, click here.