Corporate reputation on the rebound after bottoming out in 2008
After hitting rock bottom during the height of greed, bailouts and the economic crisis in 2008, the American public’s perception of the reputation of corporate America seems to be bouncing back, according to Rochester, N.Y., research company Harris Interactive’s 2009 RQ Study, which measures the reputations of the 60 most visible companies in the U.S.
The percentage of Americans who see the state of reputation as “not good” or “terrible” decreased from 88 percent in 2008 to 81 percent in 2009. Perhaps even more telling, there was a 50 percent increase in the number of Americans who said that the state of reputation is “good,” moving from 12 percent to 18 percent. This is the first positive improvement in four years.
Six companies received an RQ score over 80, which is considered to be an excellent reputation, with Berkshire Hathaway taking the top spot from frequent top-scorer Johnson & Johnson by less than half a point. Rounding out the list of companies with excellent reputations are Google, 3M, SC Johnson and Intel. SC Johnson appears on the list of the 60 most visible companies for the first time, with the fifth-highest RQ score this year and is the first company since Google in 2005 to debut in the top five.
At the other end of the spectrum, AIG moved up one spot, ceding the lowest rating to Freddie Mac, another first-time company on the list. These two companies, along with Fannie Mae, received RQ scores below 50, which, over the past eight years of this study, has been a very strong indicator of a lack of future viability. Freddie Mac’s score of 38.94 is the lowest recorded score since Enron’s 30.05 in 2005.
Looking further at the bottom of the rankings, the nine lowest companies all have recently received government/bailout money or currently remain government-supported, including list newcomer Goldman Sachs, which joins the list with an RQ score of 51.36.
One of the true bright spots in the study belongs to Ford, whose RQ score increased by 11.28 points from 2008, the largest single-year improvement in the past nine years. Ford’s score of 69.77 places it statistically in the category of companies with a good reputation, a tremendous accomplishment given its starting point and the state of the automotive industry.
At an industry level, technology remains the highest-rated industry, with a five-point increase from last year to a current 72 percent positive rating. The two largest reputation increases were in retail and automotive, both showing nine-point increases. The only industry to show a decline in reputation was pharmaceuticals, which displayed a two-point decrease following a five-point rise in 2008. Financial services and tobacco continue to hold the lowest industry rankings, however even financial services showed a five-point increase from last year.
The top 10 companies in order of ranking include: Berkshire Hathaway; Johnson & Johnson; Google; 3M Company; SC Johnson; Intel Corporation; Microsoft; The Coca-Cola Company; Amazon.com; and General Mills. The bottom 10 companies in order of ranking include: Delta Airlines; Bank of America; JP Morgan Chase; General Motors; Chrysler; Goldman Sachs; Citigroup; Fannie Mae; AIG; and Freddie Mac. For more information visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Chronic-disease sufferers use social media to learn, share
U.S. adults living with chronic disease are significantly less likely than healthy adults to use the Internet (62 percent vs. 81 percent), according to Chronic Disease and the Internet, a report from the Pew Internet Project, a Washington, D.C., research division. However, lack of Internet access, not lack of interest in the topic, is the primary reason for the difference. Once online, having a chronic disease increases the probability that someone will take advantage of social media to share what they know and learn from their peers.
The Internet access gap creates an online health information gap. More than any other group, people living with chronic disease remain strongly connected to offline sources of medical assistance and advice such as health professionals, friends, family and books. However, once they have Internet access, people living with chronic disease report significant benefits from health resources found online. When other demographic factors are held constant, having a chronic disease significantly increases an Internet user’s likelihood to say they keep a blog or contribute to online discussions, a listserv or other online group forums that help people with personal issues or health problems.
Living with chronic disease is also associated, once someone is online, with a greater likelihood to access user-generated health content, such as blog posts, hospital reviews, doctor reviews and podcasts. These resources allow an Internet user to dive deeply into a health topic, using the Internet as a communications tool, not simply an information vending machine. For more information visit www.pewinternet.org.
Low prices replace customer service as top driver of customer loyalty
Walmart dominated the 2010 Retail Loyalty Index conducted by Cincinnati marketing company Colloquy, suggesting that low prices are a driving force in customer loyalty. The 2010 results are perhaps a product of the Great Recession, as the importance of low price was not evident in Colloquy’s 2008 Retail Loyalty Index. Customers claimed the highest loyalty to Walmart in many of the grocery, personal care and department store regional categories. Costco had the highest customer loyalty ratings in three out of five mass-merchant regional categories.
“Our 2008 index showed that loyalty marketers worked within a significantly different retail landscape. Customer service, store environment and a wide product selection were the underlying factors for customers’ self-professed loyalty. But our 2010 index proves that the Great Recession became the great equalizer,” says Colloquy partner Kelly Hlavinka. “Low prices have stepped up to become retail’s strongest loyalty lure according to consumers. That is something which was simply not true in 2008.”
While Walmart clearly dominated most retail categories, other chains - including Kroger and Walgreens - did climb up the loyalty chart or make their first appearances, edging out 2008 loyalty leaders. Here are the highlights by category:
Kroger was the loyalty leader in the Midwest. In the Southeast, Publix moved up to first place from its second-place showing in 2008. In the Southwest, regional grocer H-E-B ranked first with similar messaging to Walmart.
But the highly-fragmented grocery sector, where neither conventional nor discount grocers operate in every state, holds certain advantages for Walmart. Walmart’s message of low prices and value resonates with customers - and its ability to deliver on that promise by leveraging its broad distribution network translated to first-place consumer loyalty ratings for Walmart in the Northeast and Northwest and third-place finishes in the Southeast, Southwest and the Midwest.
In the Southeast, Walgreens finished in a dead heat with Walmart for the top loyalty ranking, with CVS and Publix tied for second. In a tight three-way race in the Midwest, Walgreens and CVS edged out Walmart, even though CVS hadn’t been among the top five in 2008. Walmart easily won the Northwest, maintained the top spot in the Southwest and finished ahead of CVS and Rite Aid in the Northeast.
The regional chains BJ’s Wholesale and Meijer replaced familiar names such as Sears, Sam’s Club and Big Lots for top loyalty rankings in the Northeast and Midwest markets (respectively). Costco continued to rank first in all other U.S. regions. Walmart, meanwhile, came in second in all but the Southeast, where it ranked third behind Target, which rated third in the rest of the country. For more information visit www.colloquy.com.
Regardless of geography, green-appliance owners more active and healthy
The government’s Cash for Appliances program is underway, and consumers across the country are taking advantage of rebates by turning in their older appliances for newer, more energy-efficient ones. From the tundra of the Midwest to the heat waves in Hawaii, these green-conscious consumers have more in common than one might think.
According to Scarborough Research, New York, the leading cities for green appliance households are Honolulu; Green Bay, Wis.; Portland, Ore.; and San Francisco. Forty percent of households in Honolulu and Green Bay have energy-saving appliances, as do 39 percent of those in Portland and 38 percent of those in San Francisco. Nationally, about one-third of households currently have a green appliance.
Energy-saving appliance owners apply green-living techniques to other areas of their lives. They are 31 percent more likely to eat organic food and also enjoy outdoor activities such as running, biking, hiking, camping and fishing. Energy-saving appliance owners are 21 percent more likely to garden.
In fact, a love of the outdoors is a common trait across all of the top local markets for green appliance owners. Green Bay and Portland adults are more likely to enjoy biking, whereas those in Honolulu and San Francisco prefer jogging - but all are active adults. One leisure activity these cities have in common is hiking - they are all more likely than total adults to enjoy this activity.
Demographically, energy-saving appliance owners tend to be married and have children. Adults who live in a household that currently owns a green appliance are 10 percent more likely than average to have two or more children and 14 percent more likely to be married. While they cross all ages, energy-saving appliance owners are 12 percent more likely to be Generation Xers (ages 30-44). For more information visit www.scarborough.com.
Store-brand items seen as equal to name-brand where it counts
Consumers from around the world feel strongly that store brands are the same as, or better than, national brands at providing a variety of benefits. While store brands have built their foundation on distinguishing themselves as a good value in terms of low cost, a study from New York research company Ipsos Marketing suggests that consumers believe store brands provide much more than that.
At least 80 percent of global consumers indicated that store brands are the same as or better than national brands on many dimensions, most notably meeting their needs, offering convenience, being good for their families, caring about the environment and exuding trust. “The brand experience associated with store brands is matching the brand experience associated with national brands - and that is very alarming for national consumer packaged goods marketers,” says Gill Aitchison, president, global shopper and retail research, Ipsos Marketing.
The study further indicates that global consumers are confident that store brands perform just as well as national brands: 81 percent say that store brands offer food products that taste as good and home products that work as well as national brands. The notion that store brands offer a sub-optimal product experience - the trade-off for lower price - seems to be fading in consumers’ minds.
Other findings indicate consumers believe store brands perform as well or better than national brands in providing a good value for the money (89 percent); offering products that meet my needs (87 percent); offering convenient products (87 percent); offering products that are good for the family (86 percent); offering products my family requests (83 percent), offering environmentally-friendly products (82 percent); offering food products that taste good (81 percent); offering home products that work well (81 percent); offering products I trust (80 percent); offering high-quality products (73 percent); offering unique products (69 percent); offering innovative products (69 percent); and having appealing packaging (65 percent).
On which benefits should national brands focus? “The data from our survey suggests that national brands’ greatest strengths vs. store brands are packaging, innovation, uniqueness and quality. These are important facets of the brand experience, and ones that manufacturers should consider in their brand strategy,” says Aitchison. For more information visit www.ipsosmarketing.com.
Social networking and the Net soar in popularity and importance
The percentage of Americans age 12+ who have a profile on one or more social networking Web sites has reached almost half of the population - double the level from two years ago (24 percent in 2008), according to a national survey from Columbia, Md., research company Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research, Somerville, N.J.
Additionally, consumer use of social networking sites is not just a youth phenomenon. While nearly eight in 10 teens and 18-to-24-year-olds (77 percent) have personal profile pages, 65 percent of 25-to-34-year-olds and half of those ages 35-44 also have personal profile pages. The study also shows that 30 percent of Americans age 12+ who have a profile on at least one social networking Web site use those sites several times a day, compared with only 18 percent one year ago.
And it isn’t only social networking that has picked up. The Internet as a whole has surpassed TV as the most-essential medium in Americans’ lives. For the first time ever, more Americans say the Internet is most essential to their lives when given a choice along with television, radio and newspapers. Forty-two percent chose the Internet as most essential, with 37 percent selecting television, 14 percent choosing radio and 5 percent choosing newspapers. While television still leads among those over the age of 45, Internet dominates among those ages 12-44. For more information visit www.arbitron.com or www.edisonresearch.com.
U.S. vacationers again packing their bags
Leisure travel is picking up and U.S. travelers are once again on the move, with more Americans migrating south to Florida than any other destination. Over 63 percent of people indicated that they had already taken at least one trip in 2010 and over 77 percent indicated that they will take two or more leisure trips through the remainder of the year, according to a survey conducted by Minneapolis travel agency Travel Leaders.
Nearly 43 percent indicated they would be taking three or more leisure trips throughout the remainder of 2010. Only 4.3 percent indicated they would not be taking any leisure trips.
When asked which U.S. state(s) they have traveled to or will you travel to in 2010, the top response was Florida (42.2 percent) over California (27.3 percent). For more information visit www.travelleaders.com.