Ryanair found to be Britain’s worst “family brand”

Ryanair was termed as Britain’s worst “family brand” in a research carried out by YouGov for advertising agency Isobel.

“Ryanair is the worst family brand we studied,” said Steve Hastings, of ad agency Isobel, which commissioned the FamilyBrands Survey.

“The airline’s mounting ancillary costs and the furore surrounding the proposed “£1 to spend a penny” have done little to endear them to the British public,” said Hastings.

Airlines were the worst performing sector with easyJet, British Midland and its offshoot BMI Baby all near the foot of the table. But Ryanair scored particularly badly, partly because many parents see the company as putting profit before caring or the and its extra hidden costs.

Almost 100 famous firms from Asda to Andrex were ranked by Britons. The 2009 FamilyBrands report identifies brands that are seen to promote and support family values. The study polled more than 1500 UK adults in October, asking them to identify brands they considered to be “socially responsible”, “caring”, or “good listeners”.

Top 10 companies were as follows:

1.     Marks & Spencer
2.     Co-op
3.     Boots
4.     Kellogg’s
5.     Morrisons
6.     Warburtons
7.     Andrex
8.     Waitrose
9.     Cadbury
10.  Sainsbury

The research also revealed that consumers overwhelmingly believe that brands are not responsive to their wishes. Only eight brands polled above ten percent in response to the question “which brands do you consider to be good listeners?”