The Digital Outlook Sri Lanka annual market insights report has been released for the fifth consecutive year. Among the report’s sections is one that lists the “Most Visible Brands” in Sri Lanka, divided into various sectors. Following the report’s publication, the project team received inquiries from several individuals regarding the selection and ranking process for the brands in this section. The project team has realized the need for a specific explanation in future publications and will make a note of it. For now, I’d be happy to address any common questions you may have.
Let’s begin with a clarification: Digital Outlook Sri Lanka’s Most Visible Brands should not be considered as an award.
It seems that many people who have asked for clarification believe that “Digital Outlook Sri Lanka Most Visible Brands” is an award ceremony. Some have asked about entry qualifications, judging criteria, and the judge panel. However, this is not an award ceremony. Digital Outlook Sri Lanka is a market insight report. As such, there are no entry criteria, judging criteria or judge panel. The ranking of the Most Visible Brands is based on our research methodology for the sample survey we conducted across the island.
What does ‘most visible’ mean?
Online visibility refers to the strength of your brand’s ability to be seen and remembered by your customers in the digital world. Brands that actively engage with customers across various digital touchpoints tend to be more visible and easily recalled by customers. However, it’s important to note that visibility is not the only objective of a brand’s online presence. While some brands may perform better in terms of visibility, others may excel in other areas due to various factors. Therefore, online performance is influenced by several variables, not just visibility.
How do you collect data?
On the fourth page of the report, you will find an explanation of the “Research Methodology” which covers the overall methodology for the entire survey. Specifically for the “Most Visible Brands” section, we collect data by asking respondents to name three brands that they remember interacting with on the internet and social media. For this question, we received responses from 2,703 people, resulting in approximately 8,000 mentions of different brands.
How do you analyze the data?
We start by cleaning the data. Out of the 8000+ brand mentions, we disregard any unidentifiable brand mentions, such as those with typing errors, and general responses like “I don’t remember”.
It’s important to note that we give equal weightage to all three brands mentioned by the respondents, regardless of the order in which they were mentioned.
Next, we create a frequency table to track how many times each brand was mentioned by the respondents. In this stage, we merge any misspellings or alternative mentions of the same brand into one. For example, Daraas, Daras, and Daraaz will be merged into Daraz, while SLT, SLT Mobitel, and Mobitel will be merged into SLT Mobitel.
We then categorize each of the brands captured in the report into one of six broad categories based on their common characteristics. These categories are: Fashion & Apparel, E-Commerce & Marketplace Platforms, Food & Beverage, Electronics & Consumer Durables, Personal Care, Beauty & Cosmetics, and Service Brands. Any brands that don’t fit into these categories are placed under the “Uncategorized” category.
How do you select the top 10?
If you have been following the steps so far, then this question will be easy to answer. Our next step is to rank the brands that we have captured in each category based on the frequency in which they were mentioned. We will select the top 10 brands in each category. The brand with the highest frequency of mentions will be ranked as the #1 Most Visible brand in that particular category.
Why isn’t my brand on the list despite having a larger social media following than those that were mentioned?
It seems like having a large social media following doesn’t automatically guarantee the best online visibility. The question to ask is, how engaged were you with your audience? What digital marketing activities did you implement to ensure that your customers will remember you?
If you’re wondering how to get your brand on the Most Visible Brands on Digital Outlook Sri Lanka 2025 report, let me quote Google on the most popular question, “How can I get my website ranked organically on Google search engine result page?”. Google advises, “Don’t focus on the search engine algorithm, focus on the actual user experience. If your website is helpful for its users, Google bots will find you. If you try to build your website for bots, the bot will immediately detect that and you will be at a disadvantage.”
Similarly, if you want your brand to be among the Most Visible Brands on Digital Outlook Sri Lanka 2025 report, simply focus on your customers and run brilliant digital marketing campaigns. Concentrate on providing value to your customers instead of just aiming for publicity among the marketing fraternity or winning awards. Your brand will be naturally recognized in our report.
Limitations of the Most Visible Brands report
The ‘Digital Outlook Sri Lanka’s Most Visible Brands’ list considers the visibility of brands at a national level through a survey conducted across the entire island. However, it is important to note that a brand’s success may not solely depend on its national visibility. If a brand operates within a small niche, it may still be highly visible and successful within that niche – even if it does not get captured in our national level report. Therefore, please don’t be disheartened if your brand is not featured in our report as it may not be a reflection of its success.
Thank you for reading this blog post on the Most Visible Brands report for Digital Outlook Sri Lanka 2024. If you have any inquiries about the report, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
