Can Q Scores Predict Sales?

by Henry Schafer

Well, some savvy MBA students at Rice University certainly think so and, of course, so do I. Recently, I helped these students by providing them with some Q Scores related to authors, chefs and food programming. Their project intrigued us -- trying to determine the variables/attributes that are most important to creating a successful cookbook.

Their analysis resulted in a series of models that help to better understand the drivers of price, sales, and the probability of success in the cookbook publishing industry, with Q Scores being the most important variables in their analysis.

As stated in their report: “The results highlight key attribute drivers that cookbook publishers should consider when evaluating the potential success of a proposed cookbook. First, Author Q Score, Media Property Q Score, and their interaction are all significant variables, indicating that Q Scores, as measured by Marketing Evaluations Inc., is a key driver of cookbook sales. Publishers can make use of this information when considering potential licensing fees and royalty payments required to hire a famous author or to secure the rights to a famous media property.”

Pretty interesting stuff! I like to call this the ‘transference of appeal.’ These findings underscore the importance of the emotional connections that consumers make with personalities and shows, and how this bonding can work to achieve success with related entities, a la the ‘transference of appeal.’

How Attached are U.S. Consumers to their Brands?

In its ongoing Brand Attachment studies, Marketing Evaluations continues to find brands whose users seem to embrace them more than do users of other brands. Their stated preferences are to keep these brands very much in their future plans. In the most recent studies, these brands have the highest Brand Attachment ratings -- meaning that they connected best with their users:

INDEX VS.

ALL-BRAND

AVERAGE

State Farm........................................... 201
Wal-Mart............................................. 156
AARP................................................... 150
Target.................................................. 142
Betty Crocker....................................... 139
Stihl..................................................... 130
Geico.................................................... 127
Miracle Gro.......................................... 127
Garmin................................................. 124
Ziploc................................................... 124

Index Average.................................... (100)

Brand Attachment ratings are part of our Product Q service. In this other segment of the research, consumers are asked to rate brands overall and then on each of twelve brand descriptors.

One of the descriptors, "Like Their Advertising," revealed some exceptionally strong scores, compared to the average of all brands on this dimension:

INDEX VS.

ALL-BRAND

AVERAGE

Aflac................................................... 325
Geico.................................................. 280
Target................................................. 255
Oreo................................................... 215
Apple.................................................. 210

Index Average................................... (100)

Results of the next study will be available mid-June. Stay tuned for more interesting findings!

For more information about any of our Q Scores services, go to http://www.qscores.com/.

Hispanic Performer Q

The growing presence of Hispanics in the U.S. has created a heightened need to effectively target this fastest growing segment of the American population. Marketers and advertisers seeking out these important consumers will need to have a thorough understanding of how to motivate them and connect to them on an emotional level. Using Latino performers that relate to both U.S. born and non-U.S. born Hispanics is an important way to create these emotional bonds between the Hispanic consumer and the advertised brand. Tracking the appeal of all types of Latino personalities has become a top priority at the Q Scores Company. Our recently completed Hispanic Performer Q pilot study was a huge success. This client-supported study produced much needed data in this area, in order to better understand the personality appeal among various key segments of the Hispanic population. We have implemented a proven address-based methodology that appropriately represents all segments of the American Hispanic population with respect to the dominant language spoken in the home (Spanish, English or bi-lingual), country of familial origin and place of birth.

We are currently developing our plans to move forward and implement the first nationally syndicated Hispanic Performer Q. With an expected launch date coming up in mid-July 2009, we are excited about the ground-breaking impact we will be making in the Hispanic marketplace. We will be measuring the appeal of 400 Latino performers, with each performer evaluated by 500 respondents between the ages of 16 and 54. Advertising agencies, media buyers, talent agents, television networks and production companies will now have the ability to pinpoint the appeal of Latino performers among a nationally representative sample of Hispanic consumers.

Compared to the average American, our research has shown that Hispanics are much more intense and emotional about their favorite performers. Using Latino talent as advertising spokespeople can help marketers reach their consumer targets with highly attentive and effective techniques. Hispanic Performer Q will help our clients choose the right talent to appeal to the intended consumer target. Up-front clients can include key marketing questions that can be cross-referenced with personality appeal and, thereby, increase the knowledge about the compatibility between the performer and key demographic segments.

You can read more about the value of Hispanic Performer Q in our press release:

http://www.qscores.com/pages/Template1/site11/47/default.aspx?ItemID=7

Emotional Bonding Q

Today's new technologies have created a new kind of television viewer, who is no longer strapped to the scheduling whims of the networks. With the growing use of DVRs and various forms of mobile platforms (iPhones, BlackBerry’s, Sling Box, Hulu, and even the network’s own web sites), we have become our own programmers – watching shows when it’s convenient for us! We are more intimately involved with technology than ever before and, as a result, we are more apt to play out our emotions via the media we use today.

We are developing emotional bonds with programs and personalities via these technologies, unlike what the industry has ever seen before. The need to track these emotional bonds has become far more important than counting the number of viewers/users to determine the true viewer satisfaction, real advertiser value/impact and the future viewing commitment to programs and networks.

We, at the Q Scores Company, are very much focused on this evolution of the television viewer and have created new scores to reflect the importance of emotional bonding. Our recently introduced Emotional Bonding Q is a three-dimensional measure of the viewing experience: likeability, viewing frequency and devotion to continued viewing, all wrapped up into one score that’s easy to understand and interpret. You can read more about this important and relevant new approach in a number of our press releases linked to this blog.

http://www.qscores.com/pages/Template1/site11/48/default.aspx

Welcome to our Q Scores Blog!

For over 40 years, Q Scores have been the industry standard for measuring consumer appeal. Henry Schafer, Executive Vice President of Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company, will be offering important information on Q Scores right here on this blog; how Q Scores are used, why they are relevant, how they add value, what studies are coming up, sharing some noteworthy results, and much more. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back weekly for new information.