"Speedway SuperAmerica is proud to be the gasoline brand that U.S. consumers equate with a consistent exceptional customer experience," said Tony Kenney, president of Speedway SuperAmerica LLC (SSA), Enon, Ohio. "There are many highly respected brands within the gasoline [image-nocss] industry, and to be ranked as the very best in the place where it matters mostin the eyes of the customeris truly a great honor."
EquiTrend measured 1,120 brands across 39 categories. Survey data is based upon such brand tenets as familiarity, quality, purchase consideration, brand expectations, distinctiveness and trust. These measurements determine the brand's rank both among its competitors and in comparison to world-class brands across all categories. Harris Interactive added for 2009 another base measurement reflective of these economic times that measures the perceived value of a brand based upon the money a customer pays.
"Being the customers' first choice for value and convenience has been our vision at SSA for as long as I can remember," Kenney said. "Our employees, and in particular our store associates who are the face of SSA to almost 2.4 million customers a day, deserve the credit for building such strong connections and establishing such broad appeal and trust in the Speedway name. When we combine competitive pricing with exceptional customer service, plus the added value of our Speedy Rewards program, we clearly are having a very positive impact on the motoring public."
For five consecutive quarters dating back to early 2008, SSA has also been rated as the best convenience store chain in terms of overall customer satisfaction in a national consumer perception survey conducted by Corporate Research International through their website realpeopleratings.com. Ever-increasing customer appeal has also been reflected in SSA's very own Speedy Rewards customer survey data, with record ratings quarter over quarter in 2008 and 2009 for such key metrics as overall satisfaction, friendliness, speed of service and inside and outside cleanliness, the company said.
Food brands, particularly comfort foods like candy, continue to dominate the top 10 brands of EquiTrend with M&M's Plain Chocolate Candy emerging in the No. 1 spot for brand equity.
Rounding out the top 10:
Hershey's Kisses Chocolate Candy Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Chocolate Candy Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars Kleenex Facial Tissues Campbell's Soups Google M&M's Peanut Chocolate Candy Crayola Crayons Other notable 2009 category winners:
DreamWorks (Movie Production Companies) Marriott (Hotels) Subway (Fast Food) KitchenAid (Appliances) Grey Goose (Beer (Wine (Liquor) Coca-Cola (Beverages) Microsoft (Software) Sony (Consumer Electronics) Visa (Financial Services) M&M's (Foods) Kleenex (Household Products) Google (Online Organizations) Craftsman (Tools) Discovery Channel (Media Television) Hanes (Apparel) Johnson & Johnson (Health and Beauty) Neosporin (Pharma: Over-the-Counter) Target (Retail Merchandisers) Valvoline Motor Oil (Oil) Southwest Airlines (Airlines) Honda (Automotive Manufacturers) Michelin (Automotive Tires) Enterprise Rent-A-Car (Car Rentals) Harley-Davidson (Motorcycles) This year's EquiTrend study was conducted online among 24,446 U.S. consumers ages 15 and over between March 26 and April 13, 2009. The total number of brands rated was 1,202.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.