• by Ross Fadner , June 8, 2004

Crystallizing a company's brand name in the collective consumer consciousness is a universal marketing endeavor. A EuroRSCG study released Tuesday says that tech brands have gained the most traction over the last several years, and of the 527 brands listed in the study, eBay, Dell, and Google are the tech brands leading the way. According to the study, the brand traction for Time Warner's America Online slipped 13 points, making it one of the 10 lowest-ranking brands.

The 2004 Prosumer Pulse study surveyed nearly 2,000 Americans, requesting that each rate approximately one-third of the brands listed. In the eyes of the sub-sample respondents, 75 percent said that eBay is a more popular brand now than a few years ago, while 6 percent claimed that the brand has lost ground.

Google posted similarly high responses, with 70 percent of respondents claiming that the brand had gained popularity, while 5 percent believed it had lost ground. Dell, which posted a second-best "momentum factor" according to the study, also received an enhanced popularity rating from 70 percent of respondents, while 8 percent perceived a decline.

Havas's EuroRSCG determined brand performance by subtracting the percentage of respondents who said a brand had "lost ground" from the percentage that claimed the brand had "gained ground" over the last few years. Each brand's "momentum factor" was determined by taking into account the number of respondents who were "not sure," or said a brand's popularity had "stayed the same." By adding these percentages together and then dividing them into the net gain/loss figures, "momentum factor" was determined.

Marian Salzman, EVP and chief strategy officer, EuroRSCG Worldwide, stated that "for marketers, it's important to note that the three brands with the highest momentum--eBay, Dell, and Google--built their brands largely without recourse to the normal arsenal of brand-building advertising."

"They've grown," she added, "because they've each become an integral part of the new interactive medium, grabbing eyeballs themselves rather than shelling out media dollars to do so."

Michael Kantrow, managing director of EuroRSCG Worldwide's New York office, notes that the branding study is a "snapshot in time," reflecting the brands that are most relevant to the time period. Kantrow concurs with Salzman, adding that the top three brands--eBay, Dell, and Google--earned their way to the top by providing a valuable consumer experience.

Kantrow says that teens and young adults are crucial brand weather vanes, who he says are "by nature prosumer"--meaning that they know what they want and they reward brands who provide them with it. He adds that Internet advertising initiatives are starting to drive brand awareness more than ever before. There is great potential for the medium, he says, noting that advertisers will be able to deploy rich media "in ways we're not imagining yet today."

The biggest losers? Three airline companies were among the lowest-rated (Delta, United, and American Airlines), along with two video game makers (Nintendo and Sega), Kmart, and Barbie.