Brand Loyalty 2004
By Kenneth Hein - Brandweek.com

NEW YORK -- Search engine extraordinaire Google has shot up to No. 1 among consumers in the latest Brand Keys' Customer Loyalty Leaders survey, overtaking Avis, which held the top spot for the past seven years. Brand Keys adds new brands yearly according to respondents' unaided mentions in the twice-yearly study, which polls 16,000-plus men and women aged 21-60.

Twenty-three new brands made the list, ranging from Cheap Tickets.com to Skechers, which is troubling for older, incumbent brands, said Robert Passikoff, president of the New York-based research consultancy.

"The fact that nearly 12% of the brands that are showing up in the survey are new is a warning sign," said Passikoff. "Brands need to better solidify their customer base. They need a better understanding of the values and expectations of their customers or else their customers look elsewhere to have their needs met."

Starbucks is an example of one brand that has taken a nosedive, customer loyalty-wise. The java chain slipped from No. 6 to 29. "Starbucks is plummeting because of the oversaturation in terms of delivery of products. A cappuccino is a cappuccino is a cappuccino, whether it's at your local coffee shop or Dunkin' Donuts," said Passikoff.

Al Ries, president of Ries & Ries brand consultancy, Atlanta, said the decline is more a sign of brand maturation than anything else. "When people first started going to Starbucks they were excited about it. They ran around and told everyone. If you told someone today that they have to try Starbucks, they'd look at you like you were silly."

On the other hand, as Google-ing is on its way to becoming a generic verb for searching the Internet, it's no wonder the brand has zoomed to No. 1. "Ever since it went public, people are paying even more attention to the brand," said Passikoff.

But Ries said Google is just riding a wave of popularity that will soon crest: "It's a fad thing. Next year it will be something else. I'm not saying they don't have loyal consumers, but brands and consumers are like married couples. At first it's hot and heavy, and then it cools off."

Of all the brands, Diet Dr Pepper ranked dead last. However, lack of loyalty hasn't hurt the beverage as its sales volume was up 8.4% last year, per Beverage Digest, Bedford Hills, N.Y.

Kmart, Diet 7 Up, the NHL and White Castle were also survey cellar dwellers. "To a large extent they're all old or tarnished brands," said Passikoff. "The only thing White Castle has done of late is change their logo. Kmart's damaged goods, but I expect they'll be coming back. And, hockey has always been a niche sport. They haven't done a good job expanding beyond just being a spectator sport."

Unlike Diet Dr Pepper, competitor Diet Pepsi catapulted 14 places to No. 17. Other big leaps were made by Miller Lite (was 87, now 28), T-Mobile (76 to 38), Westin (73 to 44), BP (79 to 31), Netscape (59 to 21) and Sony Ericsson (93 to 22). The biggest mover was DHL, which shot up from 181 to 76 thanks to its acquisition of Airborne and a new ubiquitous ad campaign.

Other brands that are hemorrhaging loyal consumers include Adidas, which slipped from 23 to 40, Hewlett-Packard unit Compaq Computers (77 to 157), Vanguard Mutual Fund (78 to 162), Qwest long distance (52 to 93), and Nokia and Siemens mobile phones (50 to 61 and 52 to 125, respectively). "These are brands that have been unable to find new products, services or positioning that resonate with consumers," said Passikoff.

Not surprisingly, except for BP, the gas companies aren't winning any fans with gas prices soaring. Exxon fell from 43 to 75 and Texaco from 18 to 87. And though Avis is now No.2 as it has stated for years, it's Budget Rent A Car that has to try harder. That brand doesn't show up in the rankings until No. 84.

Brand Loyal Rankings
(This year / Brand / Last Year)
1. Google.com (2)
2. Avis (1)
3. Verizon Long Distance (4)
4. KeySpan Energy (9)
5. Samsung Mobile Phone (7)
6. Hyatt Hotels (19)
7. Sprint Long Distance (3)
8. Canon Office Copier (8)
9. Yahoo.com (14)
10. Miller Genuine Draft (5)
11. Ritz-Carlton Hotels (17)
12. PSE&G (15)
13. Amazon.com (12)
14. Marriott Hotels (13)
15. Swissotel (NR)
16. Discover Card (27)
17. Diet Pepsi (31)
18. Budweiser (16)
19. Motorola Mobile Phone (10)
20. Coors (NR)
21. Netscape.com (59)
22. Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone (93)
23. Capital One Credit Card (29)
24. L. L. Bean Catalogue (20)
25. Wal-Mart (33)
26. Skechers (NR)
27. New Balance Athletic Shoe (22)
28. Miller Lite (87)
29. Starbucks (6)
30. Radisson (48)
31. BP Gasoline (79)
32. Inter-Continental Hotels (NR)
33. Sears Catalogue (30)
34. Verizon Wireless (37)
35. Schwab.com (26)
36. Diet Coke (47)
37. Mobil Gasoline (25)
38. T-Mobile Wireless (76)
39. Bell South Long Distance (28)
40. Adidas Athletic Shoe (23)
41. ETrade.com (42)
42. J. Crew Catalogue (54)
43. FedEx (50)
44. Westin Hotels (73)
45. Excite.com (35)
46. Hilton Hotels (36)
47. HotBot.com (34)
48. Sanyo Mobile Phone (NR)
49. MSN.com (38)
50. AltaVista.com (51)
51. AT&T Long Distance (24)
52. Spring PCS Wireless (60)
53. Pepsi (61)
54. Target (62)
55. Jet Blue Airways (67)
56. Bud Light (32)
57. Sears Store (40)
58. Sheraton Hotels (46)
59. Land's End Catalogue (55)
60. Hampton Inn Hotels (NR)
61. Nokia Mobile Phone (11)
62. MCI Long Distance (83)
63. Holiday Inn Hotels (NR)
64. Ameritrade.com (104)
65. Best Western Hotels (NR)
66. Lycos.com (39)
67. Wyndham Hotels (68)
68. Xerox Office Copier (82)
69. Today (NBC) (56)
70. NFL (70)
71. MLB (58)
72. AOL.com (88)
73. Fox & Friends (Fox News Channel) (NR)
74. Southwest Airlines (64)
75. Exxon Gasoline (43)
76. DHL/Airborne Express (45)
77. BarnesandNoble.com (152)
78. AskJeeves.com (113)
79. Embassy Suites (86)
80. Nextel Mobile Phone (148)
81. SBC Long Distance (21)
82. TDWaterhouse.com (49)
83. Apple Computers (66)
84. Budget Rent A Car (71)
85. Subway (91)
86. Coors Light (81)
87. Texaco Gasoline (18)
88. Poland Spring (NR)
89. Chevron Gasoline (44)
90. J.C. Penney (75)
91. Expedia.com (85)
92. Fidelity.com (65)
93. Qwest Long Distance (41)
94. Visa Card (100)
95. UPS (127)
96. Aquafina (NR)
97. Gateway Computers (53)
98. Hertz (84)
99. Amstel Light (97)
100. Amoco Gasoline (101)
101. Nike (94)
102. Ramada Hotels (NR)
103. T. Rowe Price Mutual Fund (74)
104. Cingular Wireless (107)
105. Con Edison (57)
106. Enterprise Rent-A-Car (90)
107. Nextel Wireless (134)
108. Delta Air Lines (72)
109. American Morning (CNN) (63)
110. Arrowhead (NR)
111. Dell Computers (69)
112. Fleet Bank (157)
113. NBA (98)
114. New York Life Insurance (139)
115. Pizza Hut (105)
116. National Discount Brokers (102)
117. MerrillLynch.com (95)
118. NEC (NR)
119. Panasonic Mobile Phone (124)
120. Fidelity (96)
121. Dasani (NR)
122. Papa John's (118)
123. CDNow.com (153)
124. Datek.com (77)
125. Siemens Mobile Phone (52)
126. IBM Computers (110)
127. Best Buy (154)
128. Reebok Fitness Shoes (103)
129. Sunoco Gasoline (121)
130. Wendy's (115)
131. Wachovia Bank (89)
132. Good Morning America (ABC) (120)
133. Buy.com (142)
134. Corona (132)
135. CheapTickets.com (NR)
136. HP Computers (92)
137. PNC Bank (NR)
138. Shell Gasoline (119)
139. Dunkin' Donuts (109)
140. Coca-Cola (129)
141. Citibank (112)
142. Early Show (CBS) (151)
143. AT&T Wireless (99)
144. Travelocity.com (138)
145. Bank of New York (158)
146. Bank of America (NR)
147. Continental Airlines (114)
148. CSFB.com (125)
149. Toshiba Computers (NR)
150. JP Morgan Chase Bank (106)
151. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (117)
152. American Express Credit Card (135)
153. Deer Park (NR)
154. Sony Vaio (111)
155. Fodors.com (128)
156. Domino's Pizza (122)
157. Compaq Computers (80)
158. KFC (116)
159. Little Caesars (140)
160. Putnam (126)
161. Burger King (136)
162. Vanguard Mutual Fund (78)
163. United Air Lines (137)
164. Evian (NR)
165. Heineken (155)
166. Minolta Office Copier (159)
167. Travelers Insurance (144)
168. McDonald's (141)
169. National Car Rental (145)
170. Sharp Office Copier (169)
171. Hotels.com (147)
172. Janus Mutual Fund (123)
173. Ricoh Office Copier (164)
174. Godfather's (130)
175. Roundtable Pizza (131)
176. MetLife Insurance (162)
177. First USA (NR)
178. Fila (172)
179. Arby's (161)
180. American Airlines (143)
181. USPS Parcel Delivery (156)
182. Prudential Insurance (163)
183. Dollar Rent A Car (167)
184. Bank One (NR)
185. Hardee's (165)
186. Mountain Dew (168)
187. PriceLine.com (160)
188. Chuck E. Cheese Pizza (146)
189. MasterCard (150)
190. US Airways (166)
191. Aetna Insurance (174)
192. 7 Up (170)
193. Dr Pepper (176)
194. Alamo Rent-a-Car (178)
195. Jack in the Box Restaurant (171)
196. Taco Bell (173)
197. The Hartford Insurance (175)
198. Beck's (179)
199. White Castle (177)
200. NHL (180)
201. Diet 7 Up (108)
202. Kmart (182)
203. Diet Dr Pepper (133)

Published: October 25, 2004