MSW’s RDE Analytic Framework rests on a study that found that three equity dimensions (Relevance, Differentiation, Emotion) are responsible for driving a significant portion of brand growth.  Our ongoing Chart of the Week series is dedicated to sharing RDE results for a variety of categories.  

If you have questions about your category or want your own Chart of the Week – give us a call.

This week our RDE Assessment among 500 men and women for six major brands in the Smartphone category led to the following insights:

• Not surprisingly, Apple and Samsung lead the way in both RDE composite and Brand Preference, as these two brands dominate the US Smartphone market.

• Apple’s RDE is driven by differentiation, since Apple is well known for its differentiation strategy in terms of product design and user experience.

• On the other hand, Samsung RDE is driven mainly by relevance.  Unlike Apple, which plays at the high end of the market, Samsung offers a vast array of devices to fulfill the needs of any smartphone purchaser.

• LG offers a similar profile (albeit at lower levels) to fellow Korean brand Samsung.

• Differentiation also drives RDE for Google Pixel, as Google’s technological leadership and reputation for innovation across a diverse set of products and services has extended into their offering in the Smartphone market.

• Motorola is relatively undistinguished in terms of RDE – it remains to be seen if the new foldable Razr will succeed in lifting the Lenovo unit’s profile among consumers in the US.

• Huawei ranks lowest on both RDE composite and brand preference among the brands studied.   Not surprisingly, it is particularly low on Relevance given the US government’s action against the brand and the difficulty of buying a Huawei device in the US.

• The RDE composite is strongly related to brand preference in this category, with an extremely high correlation of 0.98.