TEMPE, Ariz. (Aug. 5, 2020) – A new study from the market research team at Zion & Zion, a top-ranked, full-service, national marketing agency, analyzes the Brand Personality Appeal of of the nation’s 26 largest quick service restaurant (QSR) chains. This method identifies to what extent a brand’s personality is viewed as having Clarity, Favorability and Originality, three distinct factors that provide important predictors of purchase intentions.

The Zion & Zion study reveals noteworthy findings for restaurant chain marketers:

  • Wingstop ranked highest out of the 26 QSRs in Brand Personality Clarity and Brand Personality Favorability, and third in Brand Personality Originality.
  • Chick-fil-A ranked first in Originality, third in Clarity and fourth in Favorability. Other QSRs that ranked consistently high on various dimensions include Panera Bread (second in Favorability and fifth in Originality) and Dairy Queen (second in Clarity and fourth in Favorability).
  • Some of the largest and most well-known brands displayed consistently less strength in aspects of Brand Personality Appeal, including McDonald’s (26th in Favorability, 26th in Originality and 22nd in Clarity), Burger King (26th in Clarity, 25th in Favorability and 25th in Originality), Papa John’s (24th in all three factors) and Jack in the Box (23rd in all three factors).

The full research report is available here: Brand Clarity, Favorability, and Originality of the Top 26 Quick Service Restaurants

This Zion & Zion research study was based on a nationwide survey of 4,363 adults. Authors of the study are Aric Zion, MS and Thomas Hollmann, MBA, PhD.