A major national research study has highlighted the extreme lack of affection held by US consumers for leading financial corporations. The Milestones survey reveals that more than half of the 22 brands examined from the financial sector were ranked by consumers in the lowest 100 out of 653 brands, with many ending rock bottom. Only credit card companies, notably Visa, were ranked significantly higher amongst financial brands.
Milestones is a collaboration between market research agencies Kadence, Brand Care and So What Research. It was conducted online amongst 5,500 educated and affluent consumers aged 18-54 during the crucial pre-Holidays shopping period in December 2008. This coincided with heavy media coverage of the credit crunch and corresponding decline in consumer confidence.
The survey reveals the worst-rated financial brands are AIG (ranked 651st out of 653 brands), Citi (604th), Liberty Mutual (591st), Bank of America (569th) and Chase (487th). The two most notable exceptions are Visa and MasterCard, which ranked 79th and 242nd respectively. Taking into consideration overall awareness levels of each brand along with consumer affection, the rankings change to push Visa into 34th position with MasterCard 122nd. American Express also made the top half of this separate list in 241st position.
Owen Jenkins, CEO of Boston-based Kadence Business Research, comments: “Given what has happened within the financial sector over the past year, it is no surprise that affection for financial brands is so low. Consumers are clearly aware of the plights of the most troubled financial corporations and have an understandable mistrust of most of the rest. The big surprise is that there are a few isolated brands in the same market that are more highly regarded even at a time of global recession.
“People still love credit cards despite the credit crunch! One possible reason for this is that consumers relied on credit cards to help them through their Holiday spending. It will be interesting to see how their affection towards brands like Visa, MasterCard and American Express changes as the recession bites deeper and the bills mount up.”
Detailed analysis of financial brands is just one aspect of the whole, much larger survey of more than 650 leading US brands. Milestones shows a strong link between the affection consumers hold for a brand and its stock performance. The findings reveal valuable insights into which brands may have the best positioning to withstand the current economic downturn and the exact mix of personality traits that make some brands do well while others suffer*.
The full report will give brand marketers across all sectors powerful intelligence on which to base strategic marketing decisions. In addition, investment analysts will benefit from a range of insights into consumer preferences that link closely to the brand-owning company’s stock price.
Notes to editors:
* The original press release on the full study (‘Kadence Announces New Study Revealing Most Recession-Resistant Brands’) was issued via BusinessWire on 2 March 2009. For a copy please contact Sam White at iseepr - sam@iseepr.co.uk or +44 (0)1943 468007.
About Kadence
Kadence is a leading privately-owned, B2B research specialist with offices in Boston, London, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Hong Kong. Founded in 1992, the agency works with some of the world’s largest brands providing global coverage at a local level. In addition, due to the company’s experience in key business markets, Kadence is also the agency of choice for global management consultancies needing to conduct primary research. www.kadence.com
About Brand Care
Brand Care LLC is a market research-based brand strategy boutique located in Bucks County, PA. President John Morton has used research to help top corporate executives of scores of major companies shape successful brand strategies over the past forty years. Commentary upon his work has appeared in hundreds of media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, PBS and CNN. Recent clients of Brand Care include Godiva, Marriott International, Hearst Publications and Johnson & Johnson.
About So What Research Ltd
So What? is a boutique style market research company in Richmond, West London. It boasts 2 research studios, offering full viewing facilities, live web-streaming and dedicated market research technology. Baz has been active in the field of branding and strategic research for 20 years both on the consultancy and client side. In his previous position he was Director Global Strategy at Bausch & Lomb. Clients for whom So What? provides strategic research services in the field of branding include Johnson & Johnson, the Big Issue and Rohto (world’s biggest eye drop company).
Contacts:
Kadence Business Research
Owen Jenkins
Tel: 1-(508)-620-1222
Email:
ojenkins@kadence.com
or
Baz
van Cranenburgh
So What Research Ltd
Tel: +44-(0)203-274-1099
Email:
baz@sowhatresearch.com
or
iseepr
Sam
White / Georgina D’Arcy
T: +44-(0)-1943-468-007
E: sam@iseepr.co.uk
/ georgina@iseepr.co.uk.