News Excerpts  #1

Food for Thought
By Becky Ebenkamp

If advertising weren't taken into account, Americans would probably rate brands with their stomachs. According to a poll of 2,600 consumers by NameQuest Inc., 17 of the top 20 most-favored brands in the U.S. are popular food products.

While the 130 brand names included in the NameQuest survey were based on 2002 advertising outlays, they were rated on factors like trust, quality and their ability to build relationships, which the research firm said were more potent than advertising spending in contributing to consumers' brand preferences. The research also found no correlation between preference and ad spending.
 

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Financial and Business News

They Know It, But Don't Love It - Michael Krey

People don't love phone service providers. At least, they don't love the brand names AT&T, Verizon, Cingular and Sprint. "The telecommunications brand category is a business that is in relationship turmoil." Said NameQuest President John Hoeppner. He says the industry has had too many "disruptive" events, such as mergers and acquisitions, disappointing earnings, bankruptcies and accounting scandals.
"From a branding perspective, it's obvious that the relationship between the provider and customer is strained," he said. Hoeppner says the survey showed that the level of brand love isn't necessarily in keeping with the amount spent on advertising.