Craftsman, Dyson, Lysol, KILZ, Weber and John Deere are all Repeat Brands of the Year in 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether it is a vacuum, household cleaner or even power tools, the brand often plays a large role in which product consumers choose for their household. Findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend® (EQ) study help confirm this, with many brands showing continued leadership positions within their categories this year.  In fact, while there are some new category leaders, the top-ranked brands in half of these household categories are holding their spots for at least the second year.  The study, which measures the perceptions of 38,500+ American consumers on more than 1,500 brands across more than 150 categories, is comprised of three key factors: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

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Six of the twelve household categories in the study have been led by the same brands since 2012 or earlier.  In fact, some of these leaders have been at the top of their respective categories for many years running.  "Craftsman Tools, Dyson, KILZ, and Weber have been top-ranked since their categories were introduced to the study.  It's a testament to the strength and resilience of these brands that consumers consistently have them at the top of their minds when thinking about their respective categories," said Aaron Kane, Senior Research Director, Multi-Client Research at Harris Interactive.   

But amidst the consistency, there are some categories which have new leaders.  One of these is Kenmore; the Sears-owned brand earns the Major Appliance Brand of the Year award in this, its "100^th Year of Innovation."  After closely trailing KitchenAid the past three years, the Kenmore brand returns to the highest-ranked position, which it last held in 2009.  "Kenmore's long history has no doubt played a role in it being a strong brand in the category for several years, with its ratings among the top three for this category since 2005.  This year, the brand achieved one of its highest Equity scores to date, largely due to increased Familiarity and Purchase Consideration," continued Kane.

Other Major Appliance brands coming in ahead of the category average include KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Viking, GE, and Samsung.

Major Appliance brands ranked above category average:

Other Major Appliances brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Amana Appliances, Bosch Appliances, Electrolux Appliances, Frigidaire Appliances, Haier Appliances, Jenn-Air Appliances, LG Appliances, Maytag Appliances, Sub-Zero Appliances, Thermador Appliances

Craftsman powers ahead of the competition
Craftsman (another Sears brand) continues its category dominance, earning the Power Tool Brand of the Year award for the third year in a row.  Not only is the brand top-ranked in Brand Equity, it's also a strong performer on the two other key EquiTrend metrics: Consumer Connection and Brand Momentum.  "Craftsman's high Connection score really shows the bond that the brand has built with consumers," explains Kane.

Other Power Tool brands coming in ahead of the category average include DeWALT, RIDGID, Hilti, and Black & Decker.

Power Tool brands ranked above category average:

Other Power Tool brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Bosch Tools, Campbell Hausfeld Tools, Hitachi Tools, Makita Tools, Milwaukee Tools, PORTER-CABLE Tools, Ryobi Tools, SKIL Tools

Dyson and Lysol clean up in Vacuum Cleaner and Household Cleaner categories
Dyson's innovation and focus on quality seems to be paying off:  they stayed ahead of the competition, earning the 2013 Vacuum Cleaner Brand of the Year Award for the second year in a row.  "While their Familiarity shows room for reinforcement and growth, consumers are recognizing Dyson's Quality and are Considering them more so then the competition," says Kane.  Dyson also shows strong Consumer Connection and Brand Momentum scores.

Other Vacuum Cleaner brands coming in ahead of the category average include Hoover, Kenmore, and LG.

Vacuum Cleaner brands ranked above category average:

Other Vacuum Cleaner brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Bissell Vacuum, Black & Decker Vacuum, Dirt Devil Vacuum, Electrolux Vacuum, Eureka Vacuum, Oreck Vacuum, Panasonic Vacuum, Shark Vacuum

Lysol also scores a repeat Brand of the Year title in the Household Cleaner category.  In fact, except for one-year stints by Formula 409 in 2007 and Clorox Clean-Up in 2009, Lysol has had the leading Equity score in this category since 2005. 

Other Household Cleaner brands coming in ahead of the category average include Clorox, Mr. Clean, and Pine-Sol.

Household Cleaner brands ranked above category average:

Household Cleaner brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Clorox Green Works Cleaner, fantastik Cleaner, Formula 409, Green Works All Purpose Cleaner, Murphy All-Purpose Cleaner, Pledge Multi-Surface Cleaner, Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner, Spic and Span Household Cleaner

Crock-Pot cooks the competition in Small Kitchen Appliance category
In its second year in EquiTrend, Crock-Pot overtakes long-standing Small Kitchen Appliance category leader KitchenAid. 

KitchenAid remains above the category average, along with Cuisinart, Black & Decker, Calphalon, and GE.

Small Kitchen Appliance brands ranked above category average:

Small Kitchen Appliance brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Hamilton Beach Small Appliances, Oster Small Appliances, Proctor Silex Small Appliances, Rival Small Appliances, Sunbeam Small Appliances, Waring Small Appliances

Consumers turn hot with Moen Faucets
The Brand of the Year among household faucet brands is Moen Faucets, just edging out last year's top ranked brand, Kohler. 

Along with Kohler, Delta also comes in ahead of the category average.

Faucet brands ranked above category average:

Faucet brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): American Standard Faucets, Glacier Bay Faucets, Peerless Faucets, Pfister Faucets

KraftMaid and Hunter Douglas open up the Kitchen Cabinetry and Window Covering categories
Consumers rate KraftMaid Cabinets as the top option for stocking their kitchens, as it is the 2013 Kitchen Cabinetry Brand of the Year.  The brand had a significant increase in Equity to take the lead from last year's top ranked brand, Thomasville.

Other Kitchen Cabinetry brands coming in ahead of the category average include Thomasville and Armstrong.

Kitchen Cabinetry brands ranked above category average:

Kitchen Cabinetry brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): IKEA Cabinets, Martha Stewart Cabinets, Merillat Cabinets

More consumers may be opening Hunter Douglas Blinds & Shades to see each new day, as the brand takes the Window Covering Brand of the Year award for the first time.  The brand showed strong Consideration and Consumer Connection scores. 

Other Window Covering brands coming in ahead of the category average include Kirsch and Levolor.

Window Covering brands ranked above category average:

Other Window Covering brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Bali Blinds & Shades, Hampton Bay Blinds & Shades

KILZ has the Paint brand category covered
Painting will definitely fall on some to-do lists this autumn season, and many Americans will likely reach for three-time consecutive Paint Brand of the Year KILZ.  

Other Paint brands coming in ahead of the category average include Sherwin-Williams, Behr, and Valspar.

Paint brands ranked above category average:

Other Paint brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Benjamin Moore, Dutch Boy, Glidden Paint, Martha Stewart Living Paint, Olympic Paint, Pittsburgh Paints, Pratt & Lambert, Sears Easy Living Paint

Tempur-Pedic rests comfortably atop new Mattress brand category
Tempur-Pedic is the 2013 Mattress Brand of the Year; the brand shows a strong Consideration score, along with strong scores on Connection and Brand Momentum.

Other Mattress brands coming in ahead of the category average include Sealy and Serta.

Mattress brands ranked above category average:

Other Mattress brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): King Koil Mattress, Simmons Mattress, Sleep Number Mattress, Spring Air Mattress, Stearns & Foster Mattress

Weber heats up the Gas Grill category
With summer wrapping up, some consumers may be putting their grills away, while others are putting them to the curb with plans to purchase new ones for next season.  Weber is the top ranked Gas Grill brand for 2013, earning the Gas Grill Brand of the Year award for the second year in a row.  Weber performs well on many key EquiTrend metrics, including Consumer Connection and Brand Momentum. 

The only other Gas Grill brand coming in ahead of the category average is Char-Broil.

Gas Grill brands ranked above category average:

Gas Grill brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Brinkmann Gas Grills, Jenn-Air Gas Grills, Kenmore Gas Grills

John Deere cuts the competition down to size in the Lawn Mower category
John Deere earns the Lawn Mower Brand of the Year award for the second year in a row.  Other Lawn Mower brands coming in ahead of the category average include Craftsman, Honda, and Toro.

Lawn Mower brands ranked above category average:

Lawn Mower brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Black & Decker Lawn Mowers, Husqvarna Lawn Mowers, MTD Lawn Mowers, Simplicity Lawn Mowers, Snapper Lawn Mowers

Harris Poll EquiTrend® Methodology
A sample of 38,814 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over were surveyed online by Harris Interactive from January 11 through February 8, 2013 and the survey took an average of 35 minutes to complete. The sample was from the Harris Interactive online panel of respondents, a database consisting of over a million cooperative respondents who have double-opted in to be randomly invited by Harris Interactive to take part in online surveys. The total number of brands rated was 1,511. Each respondent was asked to rate a total of 40 randomly selected brands. Each brand received approximately 1,000 ratings. Data were weighted to be representative of the entire U.S. population of consumers ages 15 and over based on age by sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, income, and data from respondents ages 18 and over were also weighted for their propensity to be online. This is the same precision weighting approach Harris has used to become the leading online polling organization when calling elections.

The Brand Equity Index is the keystone to the EquiTrend program providing an understanding of a brand's overall strength. A brand's Equity is determined by a calculation of Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration. Brand of the Year is determined by a simple ranking of brands.

An academic study concluded that when using the Harris Poll EquiTrend® Brand Equity model to determine brand value (as opposed to a financially-based measure of brand value), the stock performance of the top brands consistently surpassed the market during the 2008 financial downturn. The academic study findings appear in the September 2012 issue of the International Journal of Research in Marketing in the paper titled, "The Performance of Global Brands in the 2008 Financial Crisis: A Test of Two Brand Value Measures." The paper was authored by Johny K. Johansson, Claudiu V. Dimofte and Sanal K. Mazvancheryl.

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.

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 196 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.

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