From TV reboots like Will & Grace, to movie sequels and “universes,” to the $115 billion character licensing business, content creators have discovered that there is much more equity in their intellectual property than just the initial box office or license fee.

To find true value, we used E-Score Brand to look at a wide range of entertainment franchises. Using a custom brand equity index combining measures of appeal, engagement, advocacy and future consumption, we have ranked America’s top entertainment franchises. We also drilled down into specific demographic groups to see how their preferences compare.

• Among the total population, ages 13+, Guardians of the Galaxy is the highest ranked franchise, and the only one to rank in the top ten of all the generations
• Marvel and Disney franchises dominate the top 10 across all generations, although classic cartoon characters Looney Tunes and Mickey Mouse also ranked in the top 10.
• NFL brands ranked highly, with Sunday Night Football at #9, Monday Night Football at #15 and Thursday Night Football at #17.

How We Calculated The Index

We wanted to create a broad measure of brand equity, including not only awareness and current appeal, but also factors signaling loyalty, engagement, willingness to recommend the brand to others, and interest or intent to use the brand again in the future. These factors went into our brand equity index:

Content creators (and other industries as well) can use E-Score Brand to create their own index based on any combinations of more than 60 different brand traits measured by E-Score.

Top Entertainment Franchises Among Young Millennials

Each generation has its own favorites, and we found a lot of variation among different generational groups. Younger Millennials (roughly ages 19-26) present an interesting picture.

• Harry Potter stands head and shoulders above the competition with an index of 137, nine points above the next most popular franchise.
• Video games clearly shaped this generation, as three video game franchises (Mortal Kombat at #4, Pokemon Go at #6 and Legend of Zelda at #8) make the top ten.
• Younger Millennials have their own favorite classic animation franchise, but it’s the cowardly canine Scooby Doo and his gang of mystery-solving kids.

See how Younger Millennials compare to other demographic groups in the following tables:

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