Chinese Petroleum, Acer among Asia's most popular brands

Acer was voted the favorite computer brand for the sixth consecutive year not only in Taiwan but across Asia, despite the abundance of new competitors, according to a survey released by Reader's Digest yesterday.

State-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) remained consumers' top choice in its category for the fourth straight year in the Reader's Digest Asia's SuperBrands Survey.

The magazine polled 6,000 people in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, asking them to write down trusted brands in 41 product categories, ranging from luxury goods to everyday necessities. Respondents could write down any name, rather than choosing from a list.

The survey results showed that most Taiwanese consumers prefer to chat with friends on Nokia phones through Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) services, quench their thirst with Super Supau sports drinks, cook with Knorr canned or packaged soup and drink Taiwan Beer to relax.

Local consumers also like to use Panasonic washing machines and refrigerators, cool down with Hitachi air conditioners, use Duracell batteries in their Sony Minidisc players, stay at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on business trips and fly with EVA Airlines (長榮) for vacations, the survey showed.

These "are a few select brands that win consumers' high respect and regard. They are called the `SuperBrands,' which consumers consider to be their favorite or their most preferred brands," said Victoria Santos, executive director of customized research with ACNielsen Taiwan, which conducted a comprehensive study into the polls compiled by Reader's Digest.

"These are often the brands that win consumer loyalty," she added.

To better reflect consumer behavior, this year's survey included six new categories -- bank, insurance, airline, telecommunications service, battery, sports drinks and rice -- to measure consumer preferences on quality, value, trustworthiness, image and understanding of customer needs, according to Hong Kong-based Jo Jo Li (李美玲), advertising director of Reader's Digest Asia.

The survey showed that Taiwanese people are loyal to local brands. In addition to Acer and China Petroleum, food and beverage makers including Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一), Kuang-Chuan Co (光泉), Wei-chuan Food Corp (味全) and Hey Song (黑松), and home electronics maker Tatung Co (大同) won recognition among the respondents.

"Most winners are either corporate brands or those with a long history, thereby enjoying competitive edges in the market. But strengthening consumer loyalty, which is weaker than before, has become a challenging issue," said Jeanne Liu (劉美琪), associate professor of advertising at National Chengchi University.