A number of years ago, businesses attracted customers by simply addressing their pain points. Today, brands are taking stances on political issues to draw in customers based on their political identities – be it through formal statements, social media posts or even obvious marketing. 

Research shows that 3 in 5 customers want brands to take a clear stand on the social, political, cultural and environmental issues that matter to them. However, that does not necessarily mean that every brand has the same level of political influence. That is why Avid Panda investigated whether people actually care what the world’s top 100 brands have to say on key issues or whether they even associate political issues with the brand.

Top 5 Influential Brands

Here are the brands with the strongest presence in the world of politics

1. Nike

Nike tops the list, with over 18,520 monthly branded searches associated with key issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Notably, in 2018, Nike made headlines for its sponsorship of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick was criticised for protesting against racial inequality in the US by taking a knee during the American national anthem. Nike’s championing of Kaepernick sparked outrage, with those offended going as far as publicly burning their Nike shoes. 

While the backlash led to an initial $3.75 billion loss in market cap, the company quickly recovered, achieving a record high on the stock market and a rise in social media following.

2. Hyundai

In the second spot is Hyundai Group, with 3,110 monthly searches. In early 2023, Amnesty International asked Hyundai Engineering and Construction to end its link with war crimes in Masafer Yatta.

3. Netflix

Netflix has been crowned as the new outlet for US progressive politics, so it is no surprise that it takes the third spot, with 2,040 searches. The streaming platform was recently praised for adding an influx of films to showcase Palestinian stories.

4. Intel

Intel takes the fourth spot, with over 1,790 monthly searches. The multinational technology company has been criticised for pursuing a $25bn investment in Israel despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

5. Starbucks

Rounding off the top 5 is Starbucks, with 1,750 monthly searches. Social media users have targeted the company for its alleged pro-Israel stance, with the hashtag #boycottstarbucks gaining over 196.4 million views on TikTok. 

Similarly, in 2020, the company was under fire for not allowing employees to wear Black Lives Matter shirts and pins but quickly reversed its stance after the backlash.

Complete Ranking

Rank	Brand	Total Searches
1	Nike	19220
2	Hyundai Group	3110
3	Netflix	2040
4	Intel	1790
5	Starbucks	1750
6	Uber	1630
7	Volkswagen	1330
8	HSBC	1270
9	Mitsubishi Group	1200
10	Coca-Cola	1180
11	Disney	1160
12	Facebook	970
13	Walmart	970
14	Louis Vuitton	930
15	Toyota	870
16	McDonald’s	790
17	American Express	780
18	Walgreens	730
19	Siemens Group	690
20	J.P. Morgan	670
21	Chanel	540
22	Mastercard	520
23	FedEx	510
24	Amazon	500
25	IBM	480
26	SAP	470
27	LG Group	460
28	Dell Technologies	420
29	Nestlé	420
30	Salesforce	410
31	Costco	400
32	Lowe’s	380
33	Bank of America	370
34	Huawei	370
35	Home Depot	360
36	Ford	340
37	Honda	340
38	Tesla	340
39	Mercedes-Benz	330
40	PWC	290
41	Wells Fargo	290
42	Apple	270
43	Shell	260
44	Google	250
45	Target	240
46	Microsoft	220
47	TikTok/Douyin	220
48	accenture	200
49	Deutsche Telekom	160
50	CVS	150

Methodology

To determine which brands’ politics people care about the most, Avid Panda ranked the 100 most valuable companies in the world based on searches for the following keywords on Google: “[brand name] + [political issue]” and “does [brand name] support [political issue]”. The company with the most branded searches was crowned the most politically influential.

To access the full dataset, email lance@avidpanda.com.