MayoClinic.com Awarded Inaugural Health Information Website Brand of the Year in Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study

NEW YORK, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The rise of medical and health information websites has led to an increased number of consumers accessing unlimited quantities of information, studies and diagnoses. This growth of health-focused websites has created competition, with some well-known brands looking to become America's go-to location for health-focused information. As such, this year's Harris Poll EquiTrend® study includes a new category for Heath Information Website, with MayoClinic.com attaining the inaugural Brand of the Year award.

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EquiTrend is an annual brand equity study that measures the perceptions of 38,500+ American consumers on more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands and is comprised of three key factors: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

With nine health information websites ranked, and Familiarity ranging from 12%-67%, only two brands rise above the category average: MayoClinic.com and WebMD. Despite MayoClinic.com being less Familiar to Americans, its high Quality scores drive this brand to the top, while WebMD claims strong Familiarity and website visit Consideration. MayoClinic.com also enjoys a strong Consumer Connection score, which is comprised of Emotion, Fit, Trust and Performance.

Also included in EquiTrend are several over-the-counter (OTC) drug categories. "Many consumers use these favored health information websites not only for information on conditions and diagnoses, but also for guidance on treatments and medication, both prescribed and over the counter (OTC)," says Joan Sinopoli, Senior Vice President and Senior Consultant at Harris Interactive. "These health information websites provide one more information source as consumers make decisions on health-related topics."

Tylenol Pain Reliever Regains Top Ranking
Of the six OTC categories measured by this year's EquiTrend study, the Pain Relief category average has the strongest Brand Equity. Tylenol makes a solid move in Brand Equity for 2013, regaining its top ranking from Advil, which held the position the past two years. Advil follows Tylenol, while Aleve and Bayer continue to compete strongly by ranking above the category average.

"Tylenol's return to the top ranking is primarily driven by an increase in Purchase Consideration for 2013," says Sinopoli. "Tylenol has rebounded after a rocky period likely attributable to product recalls and extended absences from store shelves. Despite these issues, Tylenol's Brand Momentum score, a measure of consumers' perceptions of this as a brand of the future, is strong, showing that consumers see long-term strength in the Tylenol brand."

Vicks Cold and Flu at the Top Again 
The OTC Cold & Allergy category demonstrates great gains in 2013, with more than half of the 19 brands ranked showing higher scores than in 2012. Vicks Cold and Flu Products remain the Brand of the Year, followed by Benadryl and Tylenol Allergy and Cold Medications. Also finishing above the category average are Robitussin and Advil Cold and Sinus.

Purchase Consideration for Vicks Cold and Flu Products is at a study high, while Familiarity is at its highest point since 2007. Additionally, the Quality metric continues to earn strong scores. "What is really compelling about the Vicks brand is that, among the 67 OTC brands measured, it holds the highest overall Brand Equity," says Sinopoli. "It's a tribute to its ability to maintain strong iconography and brand essence across line extensions as they innovate in form, formula and indication."

TUMS for Tummies 
For the second straight year, TUMS is top ranked and earns the Digestive Aid Brand of the Year distinction. In 2013, TUMS retains strong scores across all elements of Brand Equity, including Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration. Additionally, for the first time in an OTC category, Prilosec OTC, an Rx-to-OTC brand, breaks above the category average.

"When a brand switches from prescription to OTC status, its leading launch claim is usually 'prescription-strength' or 'number-one selling prescription brand,'" notes Sinopoli. "However, up until this year, all of the Rx-to-OTC brands have ranked below the category average. Prilosec OTC's move above the 2013 category average may be showing that consumers' perceptions of these brands are starting to change."

Other brands that rank above the category average include Pepto-Bismol and Alka-Seltzer.

FiberCon Brand of the Year Again 
While not the most Familiar brand in its category, FiberCon once again earns the Fiber Supplement Brand of the Year distinction, driven by notable Purchase Consideration scores. Benefiber also rises above the category average, with an improvement in Purchase Consideration.

Dulcolax Takes Top Spot 
Dulcolax travels into the top ranking in 2013, a success propelled by a substantially higher Purchase Consideration score than seen in 2012. Underlying this top score are Consumer Connection improvements (Emotion, Trust, Fit and Performance). Other brands that rank above the category average include MiraLAX and Phillips' Milk of Magnesia. 

Two Tylenol Products Ahead of Sleep Aid Category Average
Tylenol PM continues to be Brand of the Year for Americans when it comes to sleep aids. A new Tylenol brand is measured for the first time, Tylenol Simply Sleep, which also ranks above the category average. Advil PM ranks behind Tylenol PM, followed by another newcomer to the study, ZzzQuil Sleep-Aid. 

"The results for this particular category are of interest because it features two non-pain relieving sleep aids entering the market and finishing above the category average," said Sinopoli. "While Tylenol Simply Sleep and ZzzQuil don't exhibit especially strong Familiarity scores, they do earn strong Brand Momentum scores, which are forward looking measures of consumer perceptions of that brand for the future."

Walgreens America's Pharmacy Brand of the Year
After visiting Online Health Information Websites and determining which OTC medications to purchase, many Americans visit their pharmacy. For 2013, Walgreens is once again the top brand, with its success driven by strong scores for all Brand Equity metrics (Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration). CVS and RiteAid follow.  Once again, only pharmacies located in drugstore chains rank above the category average.

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.

Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
Harris Interactive
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SOURCE Harris Interactive

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