Non-Burger Restaurants Show Strong Gains in Brand Equity

Subway is QSR Brand of the Year; Italian food restaurants nab 3 of top 4 spots in Casual Dining category: Harris Interactive.

March 31, 2011

NEW YORK - "Is America Sick of Burgers?" asked Harris Interactive, citing its new 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend study that revealed consumer opinion of non-burger restaurants is increasing while the brand equity of burger QSRs is waning.

According to Harris, the brands whose brand equity increased the most last year include Domino??s Pizza, KFC restaurants, and Taco Bell (though the study was completed prior to Taco Bell??s recent beef controversy).

Domino??s dedicated an entire ad campaign to admitted shortcomings, a self-deprecation that resonated with consumers.

"Domino??s improvement shows the impact of transparency on consumer brand perception," said Jeni Lee Chapman, Executive Vice President of Brand and Communication Consulting at Harris Interactive. "Consumers are more forgiving with companies that take responsibility and are forthcoming about their efforts to improve."

In other categories, Panera Bread was awarded the 2011 Casual Dining Brand of the Year, followed by three Italian restaurants ?" Carrabba??s, Olive Garden, and Maggiano??s Little Italy. And in the QSR category, Subway won the 2011 Quick Serve Restaurant of the Year, followed by Dairy Queen, Wendy??s, and McDonald??s.

The EquiTrend study evaluates a number of metrics, including equity, consumer connection, commitment, brand behavior, brand advocacy, and trust.

More than 25,000 consumers were polled for the study, which rated 1,273 brands in 53 separate categories.

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