The BoF Brand Magic Index: Volume 2

A sample of the report is available for download below. Full access to The BoF Brand Magic Index is for Executive members.

What is Brand Magic?

We instinctively know magical brands when we see them — those that seem to be at the forefront of culture and in almost perfect lockstep with their customers. But that judgement has always been more art than science.

Last year, BoF Insights and Quilt.AI introduced the concept of Brand Magic to bring data into the conversation. Unlike vanity metrics such as the number of followers, or basic sentiment analysis, we used proprietary AI models that understand emotion, culture and context to surface the nuanced meaning embedded in brand and user-generated content. Our analysis identified the brands that have the clearest and most consistent identities.

In Volume 2 of The BoF Brand Magic Index, we have taken on board your feedback to expand the aperture of Brand Magic, analysing millions of data points across three equally-weighted metrics:

• Alignment: how clear a brand is to customers, as measured by analysis of brand and user-generated content on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
• Engagement: how effective a brand is in inspiring customers, as measured by customer behaviour on Instagram and TikTok.
• Intent: how effective a brand is in driving action among customers, as measured by search volume on Google and Baidu.

By collectively analysing Alignment, Engagement and Intent, we reveal the brands that drive cultural conversations and captivate audiences without compromising their underlying essence. The result is the fashion industry’s most rigorous brand measurement tool, powered by cutting-edge AI technology.

For Volume 2 of The Brand Magic Index, we measure global performance between October 2023 and March 2024 across 70,000+ posts from Instagram, TikTok and YouTube and millions of search results from Google and Baidu.

Find out how the 50 brands ranked by reading a sample of the report below. An extended version of The BoF Brand Magic Index, including deep dives for all 50 brands, is available exclusively to Executive Members.

To download a sample of this report, click here.

Magical brands master the art of digital storytelling, finding innovative ways to balance the timelessness of their identity with the timeliness of the culture

• Dior, ranked 1st overall, cultivates a well-versed brand image of dreamy glamour and couture excellence that is clearly understood and desired by its customers. Dior is the only brand to rank in the top 10 across all three metrics, placing 1st in Alignment, 7th in Engagement and 5th in Intent.
• Louis Vuitton, ranked 2nd overall, has benefitted from appointing Pharrell Williams as its Men’s creative director, using Williams’ influence as a cultural multihyphenate to bring virality to its collections and activations. Louis Vuitton ranks 15th in Alignment but 3rd in Engagement and 1st — by quite some margin — in Intent.
• Versace, ranked 3rd overall, has been revitalising its online communication strategy after wiping its social media pages to start afresh under new leadership. The result seems to be resonating with customers, who are playing back the brand’s bold identity. The brand ranks 10th in Alignment, 4th in Engagement and 14th in Intent.

Using three lenses to evaluate Brand Magic captures the nuances of brand building:

• Alignment: Brands that rank highly on Alignment tend to be those that present a clear narrative (e.g. Thom Browne, ranked 4th in Alignment, or Loro Piana, ranked 6th) or maintain a consistent identity that is well understood by their customers (e.g., Tod’s and Armani, ranked 3rd and 5th respectively in Alignment).
• Engagement: Brands that rank highly on Engagement generate buzz for the content they produce while inspiring their audiences to create content of their own. Calvin Klein, which ranked 1st in Engagement, drove significant conversation with its Jeremy Allen White underwear campaign. Maison Margiela, which ranked 10th in Engagement despite being a smaller brand, benefitted from the virality of its January couture show.
• Intent: Brands that rank highly in Intent are typically those with a robust e-commerce presence and wide audiences. The measure surfaces mega-brands (e.g. Louis Vuitton, ranked 1st in Intent) and more accessible brands (e.g., Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, ranked 3rd and 6th respectively in Intent). Engagement and Intent are generally correlated. However, when compared to Engagement, Intent surfaces brands that create disproportionate desire relative to their marketing spend (e.g. Hermès, ranking 4th in Intent but 14th in Engagement).

Full access to The BoF Brand Magic Index is for Executive members. For unlimited access to this and all future editions, become an Executive Member now. To download a sample of this report, click here.

BoF Insights and Quilt.AI work directly with brands on bespoke engagements to measure Brand Magic in detail and over time, enabling brands to identify positioning opportunities, deeply understand their customers and measure their marketing impact. Contact our team at insights@businessoffashion.com if you are interested in learning how we can work with you.