The research company’s Brand Reaction survey measures which brands have the highest emotional connection with consumers.

Survey participants were asked: ‘As quickly as possible after you see each brand, I want you to select which of the following faces most closely represents how you immediately feel about that brand?’

The eight facial reactions spanned surprise, happy, neutral, fear, contempt, disgust, anger and sadness.

The resulting Brand Reaction Index score was collated from the survey results.

Dairy MIlk topped the index, followed by Tayto, An Post, Lidl, Kellogg’s and Magnum. Twix, McVitie’s Digestives, M&Ms, Jacob’s, 7Up and Avonmore all appeared in the top 20.

Not surprisingly, fast moving consumer goods brands which advertise consistently on television dominate the Brand Reaction Index top 10.

RedC also credits TV ads for the National Lottery’s improvement in the index.

Irish Life has improved its BRI score by 12 points and is now ranked #27, placing itself and its health sub-brand, Irish Life Health (ranked #31) firmly within the leading brands in Ireland.

Major grocery retailers Lidl, Aldi and SuperValu all recorded reduced levels of emotional attachment with consumers vs 2019.

Tucker commented: “It prompts the question of whether the current financial squeeze has negated all the positive initiatives activated by these retailers during the pandemic. Are shoppers that quick to forget?”

In Tucker’s view, strong emotional connections are vitally important as one of the key shortcuts to deliver brand choice.

“The higher the BRI score, the more likely a brand is to be chosen over  competitors,” he said.