Recently we celebrated the ten-year anniversary of E-Score Brand. The past decade has seen brands come and go, as well as shifts in technology and brand consciousness. E-Score Brand has been tracking and measuring these changes, and capturing the pulse of consumers along the way. Measuring over 2200 brands, ranging from Best Buy and PayPal to Oculus and Viceland, in 100 categories across 39 unique attributes, we have been able to turn consumer sentiments into valuable information and opportunities for clients.

We are celebrating this milestone anniversary with a look back at some research from the last decade of brand tracking.

Format Wars: Then & Now

With the advent of streaming technology, it’s hard to believe that not even ten years ago the conversation was about which media format would emerge victorious in the “Format Wars,” Blu-ray or HD DVD. Today, the battle has shifted from hardware to software, but confusion among consumers has remained constant.

In 2008 we studied how developments in the high-definition format wars were reshaping home entertainment. Back then, the race between Blu-ray and HD DVD was even as far as Awareness as 76% of people were aware of both. However, due to the insecurity of consumers as to which format would win out, 63% said they did not plan to purchase a Blu-ray player while 64% said they did not plan to purchase an HD DVD player in the next six months. One consumer summed up the confusion fairly well saying, “I love HD-DVD… However, I was really disappointed to see Warner move to Blu-ray because I believe HD-DVD is the better choice for most consumers. Blu-ray isn’t ready yet!” We know which format won this “war.”

Click here to view our January 2008 newsletter

While the “format wars” of 2008 focused on hardware, as in physical discs, today’s format wars focus on software. With the proliferation of devices able to use multiple types of software for streaming, the confusion amongst consumers remains. While Blu-ray and HD DVD enjoyed high Awareness, streaming devices do not. Even devices from highly recognizable brands like Apple TV are plagued by lower Awareness (33%.) Brand Consideration follows a similar trend as Apple TV only has 11% Brand Consideration, whereas HD DVD scored 21%.

When asked the first thought that comes to mind for Apple TV, one consumer said, “I love Apple and use lots of their products yet know nothing about Apple TV.” Other consumer comments describe the device as “incompatible” and “too restricting.”

A Green Decade

Over the last decade the green trend among brands has shifted from green as a product to green as a business model, and E-Score Brand has paid attention. Ten years ago companies like Toyota and Honda were perceived as green based on a few high profile products. Today, brands like The Honest Company, Tesla, and Toms have spread green throughout their product offerings.

Click here to view our April 2008 newsletter

With a 23% rating for the Green attribute, Toyota was considered the “Greenest” automotive company ten years ago. This was due in large part to the Prius which was economical and had few rivals at the time. They have since been supplanted by Tesla, which scores 32% for Green. Though they were one of the first to stake a major claim in going green, by not expanding their product offerings, Toyota did not maximize their Green attribute score and lost the category. In fact, their Green score has decreased to 11%.

Today, brands like The Honest Company and Toms have gone green throughout their companies. Considered the “Greenest” apparel company with a 27% Green score, Tom’s shows off its green side through water conservation projects and investing in startups addressing social improvements. The Honest Company, with its 45% Green score, is considered the “Greenest” consumer goods company by far scoring higher than the non-profit World Wildlife Fund (42%.) When asked the first thought that comes to mind for The Honest Company, one consumer stated they thought of “non-toxic, ethical consumer products.”

Takeaway

Over the last decade, E-Score Brand has been able to gather valuable consumer insights on thousands of brands across 39 attributes. With over 7 million respondents, and millions of consumer comments among hundreds of fieldings, E-Score Brand has the breadth, and longevity, of brand tracking necessary to understand the Why surrounding brand success.

Resources

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