Retailers - Are They Leveraging the Strongest Brands?

By Al McClain

What brand has the strongest equity with American consumers? Reynolds Wrap. No kidding. As reported in Ad Age, a just-released Harris Interactive study involving 25,666 consumers ranks Reynolds Wrap as the strongest brand of over 1,000 measured. Assessments of brand health included equity, familiarity, quality, purchase consideration, overall relevance, and distinctiveness.

The top ten brands, in order, were Reynolds Wrap, Ziploc Food Bags, Hershey Bars, Kleenex Facial Tissues, Clorox Bleach, WD-40 Spray, Heinz Ketchup, Ziploc Containers, Windex Glass Cleaner, and Campbell's Soups. A Reynolds spokesperson noted that Reynolds Wrap is not just plain aluminum foil anymore, and that Reynolds Release, a non-stick foil, has been a big seller. Alcoa now makes a variety of products under the Reynolds name, including several foil bags used in the oven and for grilling.

Interestingly, ad spending did not correlate to making the top ten list as, according to Ad Age, Reynolds Wrap received only $7.5 million in media support last year. Meanwhile, mega-brands such as Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's, Nike, Mercedes and the iPod failed to crack the top ten. Other top ten brands spent even less than Reynolds Wrap - with WD-40 spending only $25,000, and Heinz Ketchup spending only $414,000.

Moderator's comment: Is there an opportunity for retailers to improve merchandising and promotion of little advertised brands that have high brand equity?

For retailers, this may present an interesting opportunity. While private label has recently been growing by leaps and bounds, retailers tend to promote brands where trade and ad spending is high. (When is the last time you saw a display of WD-40 or Ziploc bags?) Put another way, could retailers spend less time chasing trade funds and devote more effort to creative merchandising of brands that consumers think highly of?

Grilling has been on the increase in recent years, and I count a minimum of four of the top ten brands listed that could be a key part of grilling lifestyle. Maybe there is something to be said for the old fashioned idea of building creative displays and executing themed in-store events. Just a thought. - Al McClain - Moderator

• Consumers Name Reynolds Wrap America's Strongest Brand - Ad Age
• Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil Ranks No. 1 in Overall Brand Equity - Harris Interactive