Heinz Ketchup ranks No. 1 in overall Brand Equity.

Harris Interactive released the 2008 results from EquiTrend, a 28 year brand equity study that measures more than 1,000 brands across 39 categories. EquiTrend provides insight on brands based on six base measures including: familiarity, quality, purchase consideration, brand expectations, distinctiveness and trust.

Henry John Heinz believed “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.” Heinz Ketchup delivers on their promise, consistently performing among top brands in EquiTrend and claiming the No. 1 equity score in 2008.

This year’s EquiTrend also includes specific questions that provide a constructive way to quantify the level of word of mouth marketing within a category and identify important demographic sub-groups who are most likely to engage in word of-mouth-marketing. The Restaurant category has the highest volume of word-of-mouth activity, followed by computer related products, foods, consumer electronics and resorts/attractions.

Carol Gstalder, Senior Vice President, Brand & Communications Consulting, Harris Interactive, said, “While there are many ways to strengthen the bonds between brands and their stakeholders, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the social networks to which stakeholders belong and how they operate, in order to proactively influence the spread of positive brand experiences and minimize the damage of negative experiences. This word-of-mouth marketing, combined with the historical brand equity tracking data in EquiTrend, provides a new way of looking at brands and their management in the context of a highly dynamic marketplace.”

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