“Taco Bell (23rd place), Wendy’s (26th place) and Burger King (39th place) appear even further down the list,” the report continued, “signaling that these brands’ advertising is not connecting as successfully with consumers. However, Taco Bell’s composite score increased by 10 percentage points from the first quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2013, likely fueled by the brand’s ‘Live Más’ campaign and the launches of each new flavor of Doritos Locos Tacos.”
Technomic added that a chain’s size or marketing budget need not determine its marketing perceptions, citing a brand like Chick-fil-A, which has used its “Eat Mor Chikn” cows for more than a decade to build a memorable campaign.
“Advertising spend does not necessarily translate into advertising effectiveness,” the study said. “Brands with smaller budgets can outpace larger rivals on the advertising attributes we measure by extending a simple, sticky message across a variety of advertising touch points.”