Is America Sick of Burgers?

America may be the hamburger capital of the world, but consumer opinion of non-burger restaurants is increasing while the brand equity of most burger joints remains flat according to the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend study.

Subway is the 2011 Quick Serve Restaurant Brand of the Year, followed by Dairy Queen, Wendy’s and McDonalds. However, the brands whose brand equity increased the most over last year include Domino’s Pizza, KFC restaurants and Taco Bell. While this study was conducted prior to Taco Bell’s recent media attention, Domino’s has dedicated an entire ad campaign to their admitted shortcomings and what they’re doing to improve. That strategy appears to be having an impact on 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 is the 2011 Casual Dining Brand of the Year followed by a trio of Italian food restaurants – Carrabba’s, Olive Garden and Maggiano’s Little Italy. M&M’s Plain Chocolate Candy is the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Sweet Treat Brand of the Year, with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Bars ranking second and last year’s highest ranked treat, Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate Candy, ranked third.

Among beverage brands, Coca-Cola is the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Carbonated Beverage Brand of the Year, with Sprite making significant improvement to rank second followed by 7-Up. Among non-carbonated beverages, Aquafina Water ranked highest among Water brands. Blue Moon Beer was the highest ranked beer brand for the second year in a row, followed by Samuel Adams and Guinness Stout.

“It’s interesting to note that three of the top six brands in the carbonated beverage category are of the clear variety,” said Chapman. “If ‘sustainable’ attitudes continue to increase, the brand perception of more natural beverages is also likely to improve.”

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For more information at http://www.harrisinteractive.com