BrandIndex is an international tool which has revolutionised the way businesses can measure the health of their brand equity. This state of the art brand barometer, produced by YouGov Siraj, gathers the daily views of UAE and Saudi consumers online across 200 brands.

Last July the Top 10 UAE brands were announced by YouGov Siraj and the results provided the market with a new type of benchmark through which to measure brand health relative to consumer perception.

The biggest and most impressive mover is Emirates Airlines. Last quarter the brand was in fourth place. It moved up by 9.2 points in overall index score, leap-froging the technology companies to first place. Tech heavy-weights Nokia, Google and Sony jostled in the same spots as Emirates climbed its way up to the apex of BrandIndex, ousting Nokia off the throne. Aside from this remarkable change in the top 4 rankings, the remaining three brands maintained their positions relative to each other.

Further stability in positions was reflected by Toyota, Mercedes and Microsoft as they maintained their exact rankings. BMW and Mall of the Emirates swapped as they moved up and down in reverse position to each other, and the newcomer, Lexus, entered the charts in 10th place, marked by the dissapearance of Deira City Centre.

Vivek Wagle, Research Director at YouGov, says: "Witnessing shifts of this character through the lense of BrandIndex signals a new way to keep track of brands in the UAE. Media clippers, analysts, brand managers, and stakeholders are now in a position to track top brands like Emirates as they commit to high level marketing and advertising budgets."

Looking at the line-up, a third of brands belong to the automotive industry which is to be expected in such a car dominated city. In June two malls were among the the UAE's brand giants, where shopping is a key aspect to life, Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre. Now only Mall of the Emirates remains in the top ten.

BrandIndex scores are aggregates of 6 profile indicators designed to measure the health of brand equity. These indicators are General Impression, Quality, Value for Money, Corporate Reputation, Satisfaction, and likeliness to Recommend. A brand's level of exposure in the media, public eye, and word of mouth is rated through a separate indicator, labelled Buzz, which is excluded from the overall BrandIndex score.

The power of social media is tremendous. Paris Hilton's recent endorsement for Emirates Airlines is esteemed to be worth US$ 1.5 million.

Social media is more than Twitter, Facebook and MySpace; it's about brands having conversations and engaging with audiences. It's about the permanent change in the region's marketing, PR and news landscape.

IIR's Social Media Forum taking place on 18 – 19 October 2009 in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, explores how you can use social media more effectively within your overall strategy and discusses what social media can do for your business.

Probably the best and largest social media example comes from Barack Obama's campaign – Obama For America in which he used social networking sites, blogs, video-sharing and Twitter to spread the views and organise supporters.

Andrew Bleeker, Director Internet Advertising for Obama's election campaign and New Media Director, Obama Inaugural Committee, is keynote speaker at the Social Media Forum.

Be ready to explore regional social media case studies as well, with top-notch speakers including:

Martin Newland, Editorial Director, The National, UAE
Khurram Hamid, Global Head Mobile Marketing Innovation, Procter & Gamble, UAE
Husni Khuffash, Country Business Development Manager, Google, UAE
Joel Berger, Managing Director, MySpace, Germany
Arshad Khan, Senior Executive, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, UAE