TEMPE, Ariz. (May 29, 2019) – The market research team at Zion & Zion, a top-ranked, full-service, national marketing agency, has undertaken a series of studies focusing on how consumers perceive brand personalities. In this study, Zion & Zion continues to deepen understanding of quick service restaurant (QSR) brand personality measurement through factor analysis by determining how well the five dimensions of brand personality (Sincerity, Competence, Excitement, Sophistication and Ruggedness) apply to assessing QSR brands.
An extensive search of both academic and practitioner research indicates that this Zion & Zion study is by far the most extensive brand personality study ever conducted in the QSR domain.
The full report is available here: Brand Personality Factor Analysis in a Quick Service Restaurant Context
The findings of Zion & Zion’s research reveal significant implications for brand marketers and academic researchers:
- Our exploratory factor analysis (EFA) strongly suggests that Authenticity is an important new dimension for studying the brand personalities of QSR chains. Zion & Zion’s market research team defines this as “a sense of truthful and meaningful originality brought about by effort exerted by the brand.
- Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker’s original brand personality research only included one restaurant chain (McDonald’s) as part of developing and validating her Dimensions of Brand Personality. However, our confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has established that her original brand personality framework is valid in a QSR context.
The Zion & Zion market research team undertook both an EFA and a CFA to better understand the application of Aaker’s five dimensions of brand personality to QSR chains. Our research team surveyed 4,363 adults ages 18 and up, resulting in a usable data set of 3,205 responses. Authors of the study are Aric Zion, MS; Fred Petrovsky, MFA; Jennifer Spangler; and Thomas Hollmann, MBA, PhD.