 |
Barack and Michelle Obama are tops in a new study that ranks the brand power of famous people from brand-building firm MBLM
The BFF (Brand-Intimate Famous Figures) study measures such attributes as how strong of an emotional connection consumers feel toward a particular celebrity, how likely they are to buy products or donate to causes associated with that celebrity and how central that celebrity is to their day-to-day life. The combination of these factors results in what MBLM calls a public figure’s “Brand Intimacy Quotient,” an overall assessment of his or her strength as a brand.
Though the Obamas top the overall listings, there are significant differences in which celebrities are preferred by various demographic groups. While Barack Obama is No. 1 in the 18-34 and 35-54 age groups, he drops to No. 4 among respondents age 65 and up. Taking his place in the No. 1 spot for that group is president Trump, who doesn’t make it into the top five in the two younger demographics. The current president also leads among male survey respondents, while Michelle Obama takes the top position with female respondents.
 |
The only other political figure to crack the BFF Top 25 was Elizabeth Warren, who came in at No. 18. Bill Gates came in at No. 7, Pope Francis at No. 9 and The Dalai Lama at No. 13.
For the most part, however, the top celebrity brands among the survey respondents are from the worlds of entertainment and sports, with Tom Hanks in the No. 3 spot, and Dwayne Johnson, Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey and Rihanna all showing up in the Top 10.
When it comes to how much a celebrity influences the spending and donating decisions his or her admirers make, president Trump emerges as the clear winner, with 32 percent saying that they watch or buy products or services, or donate to causes associated with him. Only 18 percent of respondents who admire Barack Obama said the same, and that number is 17 percent for those with a positive impression of Michelle Obama.
The BFF study was the result of an online survey of 1,003 adults 18 and older that MBLM conducted from Oct. 23 to 26.
Most people are willing to trust AI—as long as it stays in its own lane. That’s the takeaway from Mission North’s “The New Rules of Trust," a report that looks at how the public evaluates corporate reputation and at what brands need to do to maintain credibility and relevance.
Executives are moving faster, embracing flexibility and making decisions with urgency even in the face of uncertainty, a new study from Padilla finds.
The global economy is threatened by a wave of insularity that is cutting people off from the world beyond their immediate environment and making them more unlikely to listen to—or do business with—people from other countries or with opinions different from theirs, according to Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer.
While the danger of being on the president’s bad side is seen as a major source of concern for brands, the potential negative effects of artificial intelligence pose an even greater reputational threat, according to Global Situation Room report.
While predictions of economic improvement in the coming year from corporate and financial decision makers are down slightly from last year’s numbers, the overall outlook is still strongly positive, according to a new survey from Teneo.
