SINGAPORE - National carrier Singapore Airlines is most positively perceived by Singaporean consumers, according to a study by British-based independent research firm YouGov.

The Straits Times ranked ninth in the same study. Other Singapore brands on the list include banks DBS and POSB.

Brands which made the top 10 include global companies such as WhatsApp, Google, Uniqlo and YouTube.

The rankings, revealed on Monday (July 30) on YouGov's Facebook page, are based on the YouGov BrandIndex's index score, which measures overall brand health. Results were derived from a 52-week average of the index score.

BrandIndex is an online survey. For the rankings, YouGov conducted 146,000 e-mail interviews with a nationally representative sample in Singapore over the past 12 months.

A total of 365 brands in Singapore were ranked based on factors such as consumers' perception of a brand's overall quality, value, impression, reputation, satisfaction and whether consumers would recommend the brand to others.

The Straits Times is in the top 10 for the second year in a row, after finishing eighth last year.

DBS went up three notches from last year to No. 7, while POSB slipped one position to No. 10.

Mr Amos Tan, senior lecturer in marketing and retail at Singapore Polytechnic, said consumers are likely to pick brands they are most exposed to.

"It is top-of-mind recall," he said. "It also depends on what their experiences are with these brands and how they engage their customers."

On the presence of international brands such as Uniqlo on the list, Mr Tan said: "Singaporeans are known to be very well travelled and embrace things of foreign origin."

Mr Lucas Tok, who is also a marketing and retail lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic, said of the local brands on the top 10 list: "The majority of Singaporeans have grown up with and trusted them for a long time.

"These brands resonate with Singaporeans."

Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez, who is also editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English/Malay/Tamil Media Group, said: "For us in ST, branding is very much about being close to and connected with our readers. We want to very much part of the community we serve. That way, we are able to reflect issues and concerns that are relevant to them.

"This is why we have stepped up our efforts to engage with the community - from the ST Run and our Coffee Festival to movie nights and forums on issues that matter to our readers, such as fake news and global affairs. These efforts help project the ST brand and we are glad they are paying off, as this survey indicates."

Google topped the global edition of the poll, which involved six million interviews conducted in 26 countries. YouTube took the second spot.

Others in the top 10 global brands for this year include Samsung, which jumped one place from last year to third, and Facebook, which fell two places to fifth. Ikea, Uniqlo and Lego are new entrants to the list.

YouGov's annual brand health rankings: Top 10

*Indicates 2017 ranking

YouGov BrandIndex top 10 global brands 2018

*Indicates 2017 ranking