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BrandIndex data reveals QSRs creating buzz, losing value perception
12/10/09 - Christa Hoyland
YouGov's BrandIndex online surveys for November have revealed that McDonald's, KFC and fast casual Chipotle had the biggest gains for limited-service brands in terms of buzz with males 18-34 years old for the five weeks from Nov. 2 to Dec. 8.
Subway, Wendy's and Chipotle continue to lead the 10 limited-service brands in the buzz category, with online survey respondents answering the question: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, was it positive or negative?"
The brands with the biggest drop in terms of buzz compared to score 30 days ago were Hardees (No. 8), Long John Silvers (No. 10).
Buzz scores for the brands on Dec. 8 were as follows:
Subway = 37.53
Wendy's = 26.44
Chipotle = 26.08
Taco Bell = 16.87
McDonald's = 11.42
Burger King = 6.94
KFC = 6.35
Hardee's = 4.26
Jack In The Box = 2.59
Long John Silvers = -9.80
(A score can range from 100 to -100 and is compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.)
In terms of value, Subway, Wendy's and Taco Bell continue to lead the limited-service brands, with males ages 18-34 answering the question: "Does it give good value for what you pay?"
Although Subway still leads the value perception category, it was among the brands that experienced the biggest drop in consumer perception of value compared to 30 days ago. The others were Hardees (No. 10) and KFC (No. 7).
The biggest gainers in the value category compared to scores 30 days ago were Wendy's, Long John Silvers and Chipotle.
Value scores for the brands on Dec. 8 were as follows:
Subway = 52.03
Wendy's = 40.15
Taco Bell = 21.64
McDonald's = 17.60
Chipotle = 13.11
Burger King = 9.13
KFC = 8.08
Long John Silvers = 5.96
Jack In The Box = 4.43
Hardees = -8.80
BrandIndex's online survey data also revealed that for the QSR brands included, buzz has trended slowly upwards for the past five weeks, while value perception has been moving downward, especially since Black Friday.
The three big chains have all taken different directions in value perception since Black Friday, with Burger King, in the midst of a media blitz for its $1 Double Cheeseburger, taking a steep drop:
Wendy's (which is promoting its $2.99 Deluxe Value Meals) Nov. 27 = 34.7
Dec. 8 = 41.2
McDonald's
Nov. 27 = 24.4
Dec. 8 = 18.4
Burger King
Nov. 27 = 21.6
Dec. 8 = 10.9
YouGov's BrandIndex is the only daily consumer perception research service of brands, interviewing 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample, more than 1.2 million interviews per year. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 1.5 million individuals. Margin of error is a very accurate +/- 2 percent.
