Disney Ranks No 1. in MBLM’s 2025 Brand Intimacy Study, Demonstrating Enduring Bonds with Consumers

NEW YORK — Sept. 15, 2025 — Disney ranks as the No. 1 most intimate brand according to MBLM’s 2025 Brand Intimacy Study, a comprehensive ranking of brands based on emotions. Netflix and Apple rank second and third, respectively, in the overall study. Brand Intimacy is the emotional science behind the bonds that consumers form with the brands they use and love.

The largest analysis of brands based on emotion, the 2025 Brand Intimacy Study is an AI-powered evaluation of 475 brands across 22 industries and 25 brand families. Built on paradigms established by Nobel Prize-winning scientists, the study reflects more than 15 years of research combining qualitative multicountry studies and quantitative consumer studies. This comprehensive analysis examines more than 4.38 billion words across the social internet and platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Quora and X (formerly Twitter).

Over the past 15 years, top-ranking intimate brands have consistently demonstrated superior financial performance. Comparing the top 25 intimate brands with the Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s indices over the past year reveals that intimate brands collectively achieved annual profit growth 18% higher than Fortune 500 brands and 13% higher than S&P brands. In dollar amounts, intimate brands generated $252 billion more in revenue than Fortune 500 brands and $222 billion more than S&P brands, underscoring that the stronger the emotional bonds between a brand and its consumers, the more its business outperforms.

“The world of information, and of marketing specifically, is being shaped by social consensus and algorithms in an environment of volatile politics and post-pandemic change,” said Mario Natarelli, Managing Partner at MBLM. “Today, the vast majority of consumers are guided and influenced by social conversations, even when not actively participating in them. Younger generations, in particular, increasingly base purchase decisions on what they see and sense online. For brands, this means love is harder than ever to earn and easier to lose, and collective intelligence now shapes brand reality. Brand Intimacy is a research-backed approach to understanding and leveraging emotion in the context of this evolving environment.”

Additional notable findings include:

• Other notable declines include crypto as an industry falling from 8th to 22nd (last place); sports leagues, dropping from 10th to 17th; and gaming, falling from 5th to 13th.
• Netflix continues its steady rise from 8th to 2nd in this year’s ranking, signaling maturation and dominance of the brand and of major streamers in general.
• Previously placing 2nd after years of steady gains, Tesla dropped significantly to 41st, revealing Musk’s detrimental impact on the automaker’s consumer relationships.
• In another sign of underperformance, Tesla (TSLA) is one of only two brands among the “Magnificent 7” that are not dominating in Brand Intimacy rankings, as it does in the market; the other is Nvidia (NVDA). The Magnificent 7­ represents seven of the most influential and high-performing tech-focused companies in the U.S. stock market: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA).
• The automotive industry as a whole ranked 3rd among 22 industries, but only one automaker, Honda, is represented in the top 10, signaling a weakening of the role of car brands in consumer mindshare.

To download the full 2025 Brand Intimacy Study or explore the Data Dashboard, click here.

Methodology

In 2024 and 2025, MBLM, in collaboration with Allen Advanced Analytics, conducted a comprehensive analysis of more than 475 brands and 4.38 billion words across the social internet. The study focused on U.S.-based audiences across seven major platforms: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Quora and X (formerly Twitter). Each platform was weighted using a principal component and cluster-based model, incorporating factors such as demographic representation, platform usage patterns, and interaction dynamics. This approach allowed for a more balanced and representative analysis of brand engagement across generational and behavioral cohorts. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, natural language processing, sentiment analysis and MBLM’s proprietary Brand Intimacy measures, the study analyzed organic U.S. consumer discourse about brands over a rolling three- to six-month period.

To read a more detailed description of MBLM’s approach, visit its Methodology page.

About MBLM
MBLM invented Brand Intimacy, the emotional science behind the brands we use and love. For our clients, we deliver expertise and value through our agency insights, services and software offerings. With offices in New York City, Toronto, Dubai, and Seoul our multidisciplinary teams invent, transform and enhance brands for businesses of every kind. We deliver marketing that creates stronger emotional connections with stakeholders. These bonds drive better performance and long-term returns. To learn more about how we can help you create and sustain ultimate brand relationships, visit mblm.com.