Americans Cool to Quick-Service Chains

Public perception of the three biggest burger chains ? Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's ? has fallen in the wake of recent attacks by consumer and activist groups.

July 28, 2010

NEW YORK - Public perception has dropped recently for Burger King, McDonald??s and Wendy??s, according to a new survey from YouGov??s BrandIndex, Nation??s Restaurant News reports.

Fast-food restaurants, especially the three largest chains, have come under attack by activist and consumer groups accusing the chains of serving unhealthy food and using underhanded marketing tactics. YouGov??s survey found that more respondents than average had encountered negative information about Burger King, McDonald??s or Wendy??s, which correlated with a dropping in the chains?? respective BrandIndex "buzz" scores.

"QSR has had a really good run the past two years, and I??d expect this is just another hiccup," said Ted Marzilli, senior vice president and general manager of BrandIndex. "I don??t mean to downplay the threat, but in the short term it??s more that people are hearing about the potential for increased regulation than the fact that it??ll actually happen. People are hearing about, and it??s showing up in buzz numbers."

McDonald??s averaged a 12.4 buzz score for July, a decline from its average score of 16.7 from July 09 through June 10. Burger King dropped down to 17.7 this month from an average score of 19.4 during the previous 12 months. Wendy??s score plummeted to 24.5 for July from an average of 28.5 the previous year.

BrandIndex points to the First Lady Michelle Obama??s "Let??s Move" campaign and media reports of calorie counts and consumer issues with quick-service restaurants as contributors to the buzz scores declining for all three chains.

"["Let??s Move"] is not directly combative with QSR, but it goes around the edges, being concerned with healthy foods and hinting at the idea that there should be legislation to reduce the amount of advertising toward kids," said Marzilli. "That has to be scary for some operators. The first lady and the president have a big bully pulpit, and ending childhood obesity is a cause that most people agree with at a conceptual level."

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement