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Chipotle, Subway, Pizza Hut take home Harris Poll 'Brand of the Year' award

Brands with the highest scores for equity receive the Harris Poll EquiTrend "Brand of the Year" award for their category.

March 26, 2015

The Harris Poll has released the results of its 2015 EquiTrend Brand Equity Index, comprised of three factors: familiarity, quality and consideration, which measures a Brand Equity rating for each brand. Brands with the highest scores for equity receive the Harris Poll EquiTrend "Brand of the Year" award for their category. The 27th annual study captured data from more than 38,000 Americans assessed over 1,400 brands across 148 categories. 

Subway received a Brand of the Year award in the Sandwich Shop category, while In-N-Out Burger took the award for the Burger Restaurant category, Chick-fil-A for the Chicken Restaurant category and Pizza Hut for pizza chains.

Receiving the award for strongest equity in Coffee & Quick Service Restaurants was Krispie Kreme and Chipotle for the Fast Casual Mexican Restaurant category.

"Brands that build and keep their promise over time—and develop strong differentiation—stay relevant for the long term," said Joan Sinopoli, VP of Brand Solutions at Harris Poll, in a press release. "Strong equity has value and can sustain companies through hard times."

Harris Poll EquiTrend surveyed 38,670 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over online in English between January 8 and February 2, 2015. The survey, rating a total of 1,410 brands, took an average of 30 minutes to complete. The survey asked respondents to rate a total of 40 randomly selected brands with each brand receiving approximately 1,000 ratings. Harris Poll weighted the data to be representative of the entire U.S. population of consumers ages 15 and over based on age by sex, education, race/ethnicity, region and income. Harris Poll also weighted data from respondents ages 18 and over for their propensity to be online.