Key Takeaway: With viewership that can reach in the tens of millions, popular television shows tend to be the golden child of advertising. Perhaps the only thing better than having a 30-second commercial is having an entire show focus on your product…right?
A study looked at how CBS’ hit show, Undercover Boss, has influenced three establishments. The research shows that while perceptions improved in the short-run, they ultimately drifted back towards the pre-show numbers.
It goes to show that while you can expect television to create buzz around your product, it cannot be the only tactic if trying to change your brand image.
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Excerpted from Brandweek, “‘Undercover’ Boosts Brands?” April 23, 2010
Retail chains with negative reputations expecting big, long-lasting buzz boosts from appearances on CBS’ Undercover Boss better think again.
YouGov’s BrandIndex examined three establishments featured on the hit program to learn if the exposure persuaded consumers that these were places they’d consider working for.
7-ELEVEN
7-Eleven received the lowest reputation score in the Grocery Store sector, so the timing was ideal for the February 21 broadcast.
President and CEO Joseph DePinto’s disguised himself as a trainee on the night shift in a Long Island, N.Y., store, where one employee confides that he’d never recommend working at the chain because it’s a dead end job.
That out-of-the-blue upbeat finale moved the meter only slightly for 7-Eleven — from -23.1 on the night the show aired to a short-term gain of a couple of points. However, in the long run, the chain made it as high as -17.2, and is now tracking at -19.3, a decent amount above its -24.7 score from January 1
WHITE CASTLE
Dave Rife — great-grandson of the hamburger chain’s founder — was surrounded by relatives, expensive cars and a personal trainer when his turn to work undercover arrived on February 28.
After revealing his identity, he told an employee to start a wellness program. He also handed out two $5,000 checks: one to an aspiring cook as a scholarship, and another to a worker for a “leaders of tomorrow” program.
That resonated the most with consumers, who sent White Castle’s reputation score upwards from -11.4 to -5.9 in a matter of three weeks. The brand has since settled in at -9.8, just a few points higher than the January 1 score of -13.4.
HOOTERS
The Atlanta-based restaurant chain has had one of the most undesirable workplace perceptions in the dining sector, so the appearance of president and CEO Coby G. Brooks on Valentine’s Day couldn’t have come at a better time. The chain’s reputation low point of the year came on January 21, with -31.1, around the same time the owners who licensed the brand name for Las Vegas’ Hooters Hotel and Casino announced they had “substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”
Hooters’ reputation score got a modest shot in the arm, as it climbed leading up to the February 14 airing, hitting -26.2. It then moved up to -23.7 in late March — the chain’s highest score since November 2009. However, Hooters has slid to -27.7 — and its very existence is shaky now that it has one month to find a buyer to resolve a legal brawl over Coby Brooks’ father’s estate.
Edit by JMZ
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Full Article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3icc341acc4f9c061e30d034bbbaf1c758
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