Dive Brief:

• Disney+ is the most loved brand in offline consumer conversations, followed by Amazon/Prime, according to Engagement Labs' TotalSocial​ study shared with Marketing Dive. The new streaming platform jumped from last place to first — up 410 spots — since 2019, now ahead of the other 600 brands on the list that was measured from March to May.
• Food Network was the most loved brand in online conversations, followed by Apple and Spotify. The NFL, HGTV and Netflix also ranked on the list as entertainment and media streaming services were among the most popular brands on the list this year. HGTV was the only brand to rank on both the online and offline leaderboards, rising from No. 23 to No. 6 in online conversations.
• Personal hygiene brands and online drugstores and grocers also benefited from the pandemic as consumers focused on staying clean. Nivea jumped from No. 159 to No. 3 on the offline list and Colgate increased from No. 43 to No. 6. Online grocers Publix and H-E-B made the top 10 as consumers stocked up on pantry staples, per Engagement Labs.

Dive Insight:

The researcher's latest ranking highlights how consumers' favorite brands shifted during the early days of coronavirus-related lockdowns to focus on media and entertainment brands, grocery stores and personal hygiene products.

The data suggests that people spent their time at home entertaining themselves with content. Netflix, HGTV, Spotify, and the NFL — surprising, given that most sports games were canceled during this time — were all among brands that benefited from this growth. Food Network saw improvements in rankings thanks to two lockdown trends around higher levels of entertainment viewing combined with the spike in home cooking as restaurants were limited to takeout and delivery offerings.

Disney+ benefited the best from the lockdown viewing trends, moving a whopping 410 spots on the list from March to May. The new platform had a very high positive-to-negative conversation ratio, especially as compared to more established streaming competitors such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

"I can't think of another brand that literally went from zero to No. 1 so fast," Engagement Labs CEO Ed Keller said in a statement. "The combination of a great brand, a successful holiday season release, and then a pandemic keeping people at home has provided the perfect storm for Disney+ plus to succeed in the streaming marketplace. It's also notable that while the social media conversation curve quickly flattened for Disney+, the offline curve has plateaued at 40 million conversations per week."

When people weren't entertaining themselves during the early days of the pandemic lockdowns, many were ordering groceries and personal care products that helped grocers and brands such as Publix, H-E-B, Colgate and Nivea to benefit.