More than two years after the Great Recession officially commenced it is clear that U.S. consumers have made fundamental changes in the way they shop, where they shop and the brands they buy.  

 

Private label products in commodity categories have gained share as consumers look to lighten the load on the family budget.  The discount/mass and mid-tier retail segments have also grown share as consumers look to find value for their dollar.  And brands that have established a solid connection with the consumer are not only surviving in the new economy, but are gaining share of consumers  mindshare and their wallets as the consumer looks to brands they trust for quality and a fair price.

 

It has never been more important than it is now for brands in the sports and outdoor lifestyle market to establish and capitalize on their relationship with the consumer.  Not only does this serve brands well now, it will only pay bigger dividends down the road as the economy improves.

 

The Brand Strength Index was originally formulated in early 2009 by The SportsOneSource Group in an effort to more effectively measure the overall consumer perception of a specific brand.  Each brand measured was tested across four main criteria, with those criteria each individually weighted to reflect their importance in the overall indexing formula. 

 

Two key factors influencing the Brand Strength Index focused on awareness: unaided awareness and aided awareness.  In an effort to measure a brands mindshare, the survey respondents were first asked to name five footwear, apparel, or equipment brands in the sports or outdoor sector.  Respondents were then provided a list of 72 brands and asked about awareness levels for each.                                                

 

The next factor measured in the study and used to formulate the Brand Strength Index (BSI) was a respondents likelihood to purchase a specific brand again in the future.  For each brand that a respondent mentioned having purchased in the last year, the respondent was asked on a scale of 1 to 5 — with 1 representing Definitely Would Not and 5 representing Definitely Would — how likely they would be to purchase that specific brand again in the future.  Brands earned points for positive responses while points were subtracted for negative responses.

 

The attribute with the highest importance in the BSI formula was based on the researchers attempt to measure a consumers uncompromising commitment to a brand.  Respondents were first asked if they would leave a specific retailer if a particular brand was not offered.  The respondents that answered Yes were then asked (unaided) which brands were so important to them that they would leave a retailer if that brand were not available.

 

All four criteria were then combined using a proprietary formula to generate a single Brand Strength Index for each qualifying brand.  

Nike was able to separate itself from the rest of the brands measured thanks to overwhelming awareness, both aided and unaided, due in large part to the massive spending on marketing, or what Nike, Inc. refers to as demand creation.                                                                       

 

Nikes BSI score remained consistent with the results of the 2009 Brand Strength Index, improving 2.1 BSI points versus the 2009 BSI score for the brand.  This is an indication that even in a struggling economy Nike has been able to maintain its dominance in consumers minds and still maintains a larger share of their wallets.

 

Adidas followed Nike with a BSI score of 627.6, more than 100 points lower than the global brand behemoth, but Adidas did narrow the gap versus scores published in the 2009 Brand Strength Report.  Last years point differential between Nike and Adidas was just over 130 BSI points. 

 

Reebok and Converse were two of the other big movers this year compared to last.  Converse posted a BSI score of 478.4 this year, or 50 points higher than their score from the 2009 study, and Reebok moved ahead nearly 30 BSI points to maintain its spot ahead of Under Armour in the top five.  Under Armour saw its BSI score improve just over 12 BSI points versus the prior-year report.  The Jordan brand was the other big gainer in the Nike, Inc. brand stable, adding nearly 50 points this year.

 

The Brand Strength Index numbers change a bit when assessing the results for younger consumers aged 13– to 24–years old, both for a brands individual score and the ranking of the brands.  The top two brands, Nike and Adidas, remain the same, but see their scores increase modestly with the young consumer. Under Armour moves into the third sport with a young consumer BSI score 14.2 points higher than their overall BSI score and The North Face takes the #5 spot with a young consumer BSI score 27.7 points higher than the overall BSI score. 

 

Puma jumps four spots with the young consumer with a BSI score 28 points higher than their overall BSI score.  Reebok remained in the #4 position in the young consumer Brand Strength Index, but the brands score falls 62.3 points with this younger demographic, and Converse remained in the #7 spot, but their BSI score jumps 16 points with the young consumer group.  Jordan, Columbia and Vans round out the top ten brands in the young consumer BSI.