Harris Poll EquiTrend Home Brands of the Year Touch the Lives of Americans, Every Day

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While consumers usually turn to friends and family for information about the best products and services, they might also want to reference Harris Poll EquiTrend®, an annual study which reveals the household brands that Americans rank highest in brand equity. This assessment surveys more than 38,000 Americans and measures their levels of Quality, Familiarity, and Purchase Consideration with studied brands; it then awards Brand of the Year recognition to the top-ranked brand in each category.  

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Interestingly, Quality is the area where most of this year's top household brands ranked the highest, showing how much product quality matters. "In addition to Quality—which is a 'here and now' metric—we measure forward-facing components to understand where a brand is going," says Aron Galonsky, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive. "Keurig is a great example of a brand on the right path. In its first appearance in the Harris Poll EquiTrend study, not only did it earn the Coffee Maker Brand of the Year distinction, but it posted the highest Future Outlook score and the second highest Brand Momentum and Brand Popularity scores. This performance would indicate that Keurig is well positioned for growth and expansion in the eyes of consumers."

Harris Poll EquiTrend awards Brand of the Year honors to the highest-ranked brands in a number of home goods categories, including Carpet, Coffee Maker, Cookware, Cat Food, Dog Food, Everyday Dinnerware, Faucet, Gas Grill, Household Cleaner,  Innerspring  Mattresses, Kitchen Cabinetry, Lawn Mower, Major Appliance, Small Kitchen Appliance, Paint, Power Tool, Vacuum Cleaner, and Window Covering. 

If you were to follow these consumer rankings and incorporate the 2012 Harris Poll Brand of the Year products into your everyday life, your day might look something like this:

Waking Up on the Right Side of the Bed

Americans rest behind Levolor Blinds and Shades—the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Window Covering Brand of the Year—and on Serta Mattresses—the Innerspring Mattress Brand of the Year.

After washing up beneath a Kohler faucet—the 2012 Brand of the Year in the new Faucet category— coffee might be the next step to waking up. For brewing that important first cup, Keurig is the Coffee Maker Brand of the Year. Reaching into Thomasville cupboards—the 2012 Kitchen Cabinetry Brand of the Year—Americans might select Hill's Science Diet for their feline friends or Cesar Canine Cuisine for Fido—the top-ranked pet foods brands in the cat and dog food categories, respectively. When fixing breakfast, a consumer might turn to KitchenAid, the back-to-back 2011 and 2012 Small Kitchen Appliance Brand of the Year, for a little extra help.

Top Brands for Household Chores and Home Maintenance

One of Americans' housekeeping chores may be cleaning-up, and consumers think Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner—the Harris Poll EquiTrend Household Cleaner Brand of the Year—is up to the task. In the kitchen or laundry room, consumers think well of KitchenAid, a brand that has mirrored its year-over-year success in the Small Kitchen Appliance category by becoming the two-time consecutive Brand of the Year among Major Appliances. Finally, Americans might wheel out a Dyson, the Vacuum Cleaner Brand of the Year, to tidy up top-ranked Shaw carpets.

Once the interior of their homes are tended to, consumers may move outside for an afternoon of home maintenance projects. For hands-on, do-it-yourself activities, Craftsman—a 2011 and 2012 Power Tool Brand of the Year—provides Americans with the power tools they need for drilling, cutting, shaping, sanding, grinding, routing, and polishing. When it comes time to paint, Americans often reach for KILZ—another two-time, consecutive Harris Poll EquiTrend Brand of the Year. Meanwhile in the garden shed, John Deere is the highest-ranked lawn mower. 

Americans Enjoy Grilling and Dining More with the Highest Ranked Brands

These summer months call for outdoor grilling, and with Americans' homes and lawns looking great, outdoor entertaining is a natural fit. A typical American consumer might barbeque on their Weber Gas Grill—the Gas Grill Brand of the Year—and make side dishes in the brightly-colored Cookware Brand of the Year, Le Creuset. Finally, they may set their tables with Correlle, the Everyday Dinnerware Brand of the Year, and settle in for good conversation and great food.

Americans have always been known for their love of the best of the best in all areas of their lives. So, as the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend snapshot of the typical American consumer proves, it's no surprise that they prefer the best-in-class products!

About Harris Poll EquiTrend ®

Harris Poll EquiTrend® is a leading Brand Equity tracking study conducted by Harris Interactive that measures and compares brand health for more than 1,500 brands. The study was conducted online from January 31 through February 20, 2012 and analyzes the responses of over 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health - including how well the public knows a brand, how positively they think of the brand and their consideration to do business with or donate to a brand. Each brand is rated 1,000 times among respondents who are familiar with the brand. Harris Interactive has conducted its Harris Poll EquiTrend study regularly since 1989, and can offer yearly trended data from 2005. The Equity Score, a key take-away from Harris Poll EquiTrend, has been validated against financial performance by Georgetown University.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The Harris Poll EquiTrend® study results disclosed in this release may not be used for advertising, marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

For a complete listing of all the brands covered in the study, contact Corporate Communications at 212-539-9600 or [email protected].

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Related Links:
2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings Page
Harris Poll EquiTrend Product Overview 
Harris Interactive on Facebook 
2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Brand List 

Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
Harris Interactive
212-539-9600
[email protected]

SOURCE Harris Interactive