America’s favorite Mexican restaurant is Taco Bell what does it mean?

Consumers rated 3,000 brands for this years Harris Poll and the results range from predictable to downright weird

Its not as easy being a brand as it used to be. In the age of social media, intensely partisan consumers are ready to repuporse every piece of news into a salvo in the neverending culture war. One day youre on top of the world, the next your pizza chain CEO is forced to resign for using the N-word in a media training exercise. Thats before we even get to all the perils of social media, where one errant tweet can create a media maelstrom, or else spark a boycott from either the left, as weve seen with Chick-fil-A, or the right, as weve seen with Keurig and Nike and the NFL, to name but a fraction.

Some brands keep things slow and steady on the other hand. Thats where the Harris Polls annual EquiTrend Study comes in. Now in its 30th year, the poll attempts to measure brand health over time across a variety of consumer fields. To do so they judge on three criteria: familiarity, quality and purchase consideration. This year, they say, 77,000 US consumers rated 3,000 brands to crown a winner in each category. The results range from predictable, to surprising, to downright weird.

Many of the food categories are all over the map. Favorite coffee shop goes to Krispy Kreme, who apparently serve coffee, while the nations favorite Mexican goes to Taco Bell, who apparently serve Mexican food. The California-based pizza chain Blaze Pizza is an upstart, but not necessarily controversial choice, while Five Guys Burgers & Fries is a respectable result as well. In a rare tie, Panera and Subway share the top sandwich shop spot, although the poll was probably conducted before Subway just announced the end of their $5 foot long promotion, so those results might not hold next year. Brand loyalty, as the people behind the poll will tell you, can be a fickle thing.

Being the biggest player in a particular field isnt necessarily bulletproof in terms of consumer satisfaction or loyalty anymore it turns out, as the Harris Poll CEO, John Gerzema, explained in a statement. Consumers are more apt to align themselves with quality smaller brands this year. Theres a reason why you see the word craft thrown around so much now after all.

The EQ study reveals that brand equity is no longer guaranteed by size or media impressions, Gerzema said. This is actually a time when being big is code for being the establishment. As private label and the popularity of craft products rises, brands are now differentiated on their values, personal connection and their ability to build community.

And to not be overtly racist, it probably goes without saying.

The trend toward smaller names doesnt hold steady across all categories. Some of the largest companies maintain their place of primacy, of course. Honda tops the list of full line automotive brands, while The Home Depot takes the honors for hardware and home store. Verizon Wireless is the favored wireless carrier, and Visa is the most trusted way to pay for all of those things.

Entertainment options tend toward the familiar as well, with HBO coming in as the top pay television network, ESPN the best for sports and PBS the favored network. But, and here is where things get a little weird, the Weather Channel is the top TV news channel. Considering how the climate has gone crazy of late, a trend that seems unlikely to dissipate, perhaps that makes more sense than it seems at first blush.

The only thing more volatile than the climate itself might be the political winds when it comes to brands standing in the cultural conversation. But if the results of the poll are any indication, protests online might not be quite as influential as they seem. The top coffee maker of the year was Keurig. The top chicken restaurant? You probably already guessed it was Chick-fil-A.

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

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Originally Published Here: America’s favorite Mexican restaurant is Taco Bell what does it mean?
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America’s favorite Mexican restaurant is Taco Bell what does it mean? was originally posted by Monthly Mashed 3