YouGov has released its annual Most Recommended Brands ranking, highlighting the brands most endorsed by their existing customers across 28 global markets.

In Australia, Rolex leads the 2025 rankings with an impressive score of 89.6. The rankings reflect Australians’ strong preference for global brands in luxury, automotive, and beverage sectors, underscoring their inclination to recommend brands that deliver not only product excellence but also international prestige and heritage.

Automotive brands remain a powerhouse, with Toyota (89.2), Michelin (86.2), and BMW (86.1) demonstrating the sector’s strength. A notable trend this year is the dominance of alcohol brands, with Jack Daniel’s (88.4), Guinness (88.2), Budweiser (87.8), Heineken (87.1), and Johnnie Walker (86.3) making up half of the list.

Top 10 Brand Improvers in Australia

YouGov also released its list of the top improvers—brands that saw the greatest year-over-year increases in recommendation scores. X (formerly Twitter) leads with a +11.9-point surge, followed closely by Mobil (+10.8). The inclusion of fast food and beverage names like Domino’s, KFC, Monster, and V Energy reflects interest in accessible, everyday indulgences.

Global top 10 brands

Globally, Emirates secures the top spot with a score of 88.4, affirming the airline’s global reputation for luxury and reliability. Other brands in the top ten include automotive stalwarts Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW (scores: 84.7, 81.8, and 81.4 respectively), showcasing the global trust in performance and engineering.

Iconic apparel brands—Levi’s, adidas, and Nike (83.1, 82.5, 82.0)—continue to generate high advocacy. Additionally, Nintendo (82.1), Neutrogena (80.8), and trivago (81.0) reflect the diverse appeal of entertainment, personal care, and online travel booking sectors.

Download the full report here.

Methodology:

The YouGov Recommend Rankings 2025 are based on YouGov BrandIndex’s positive Recommend score, which measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague. Top ten ranking is calculated between ​June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, using data collected from members of the public in markets around the globe every day, from the flagship YouGov BrandIndex tool. Improvers Ranking shows average data from June 1, 2024- May 31, 2025 compared to June 1, 2023- May 31, 2024.

Every brand’s performance is tracked daily against a range of metrics, and the Recommend ranking measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague. All brands have been tracked for at least 183 days to be included in the rankings and at least 548 days for improvers. The scores are representative of the general population of adults 18+​. All Recommend scores are rounded to a single decimal place.