Kadence Announces New Study Revealing Most Recession-Resistant Brands

BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
A major new study into consumer perceptions of 650 leading US brands has shown a
strong link between the affection consumers hold for a brand and its stock
performance. The findings reveal valuable insights into which brands may have
the best positioning to withstand the current economic downturn and the exact
mix of personality traits that make some brands do well while others suffer.

The Milestones study is a collaboration between market research agencies
Kadence, Brand Care and So What Research. It was conducted online amongst 5,500
educated, affluent consumers aged 18-54 during the crucial pre-Holidays shopping
period in December 2008. This coincided with heavy media coverage of the credit
crunch and resulting decline in consumer confidence.

The study provides a robust measure of consumers` affection - or the
`wonderfulness` - of the brands along with their perception of value,
familiarity and usage of each one. It also records brand personality traits and
consumers` social, economic and environmental concerns to provide a broader
context for their preferences.

According to the study, the ten most wonderful brands in the eyes of US
consumers are (in descending order) Hershey`s, Google, Sony, Kraft, Crayola,
Kellogg`s, Scotch Tape, Wii, Rolls Royce and Johnson & Johnson. The ten least
wonderful brands are (from bottom up) National Enquirer, AIG, Botox, Kia, alli,
Hummer, O The Oprah Magazine, Dress Barn, ChemLawn and Direct Buy*.

In terms of value, brands that were seen as offering the best ratio of
wonderfulness to cost were Walmart, Google, Amazon, Hershey`s, Target, Cheerios,
Campbell, PBS, Yahoo and eBay. Brands that were seen as offering the worst ratio
of wonderfulness to cost were Hummer, Botox, Prada, Land Rover, Gucci, AIG, Saks
Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Maserati and Ferrari.

Owen Jenkins, CEO of Boston-based Kadence Business Research, comments: "Detailed
analysis of responses shows a strong correlation between the level of consumer
affection and stock performance in 2008. For example, corporations owning brands
with a mediocre affection score of 4.5 out of 7 lost nearly 50% more stock
equity last year than corporations owning brands with an affection score of 5.5.
In other words, a small difference in how much a brand is loved makes a big
difference in how it performs on the stock market."

The study also includes diagnostic analysis that isolates specific associations
that protect or destroy brand affection and stock equity. Corporations with
brands associated with caring, unique, fun-to-be-with, resourceful and
intelligent consumers performed far better in the financial markets than brands
associated with sophistication, blitheness, innovation, fashionability and
environmental concerns. Association with higher income consumers is the single
strongest predictor of poor corporate stock performance in 2008.

Owen Jenkins says: "Milestones provides important clues to the consequences of a
deepening economic crisis. Our analysis of the associations linking consumers to
brands clearly demonstrates that the credit crunch has become a far more
persuasive factor in consumer attitudes - and by implication their purchasing
decisions - than other issues like environmental and global poverty concerns."

Respondents can be split between those people who feel most insecure about the
financial status of their household and those who feel less of a pinch. The
study suggests that brands especially liked by those with the biggest financial
concerns - such as Prilosec, Sunkist, Orville Redenbacher, Maybelline, Johnson &
Johnson and Kool Aid - may be the ones that profit most from a prolonged or
worsening crisis.

The full report will give brand marketers across all sectors powerful
intelligence on which to base strategic marketing decisions. In addition,
investment analysts will benefit from a range of insights into consumer
preferences that link closely to the brand-owning company`s stock price.

Notes to Editors

* NB The list of ten least wonderful brands excludes celebrities and sports
teams.

About Kadence

Kadence is a leading privately-owned, B2B research specialist with offices in
Boston, London, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Hong Kong. Founded
in 1992, the agency works with some of the world`s largest brands providing
global coverage at a local level. In addition, due to the company`s experience
in key business markets, Kadence is also the agency of choice for global
management consultancies needing to conduct primary research. www.kadence.com

About Brand Care

Brand Care LLC is a market research-based brand strategy boutique located in
Bucks County, PA. President John Morton has used research to help top corporate
executives of scores of major companies shape successful brand strategies over
the past forty years. Commentary upon his work has appeared in hundreds of media
including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, PBS and CNN. Recent
clients of Brand Care include Godiva, Marriott International, Hearst
Publications and Johnson & Johnson.

About So What Research Ltd

So What? is a boutique style market research company in Richmond, West London.
It boasts 2 research studios, offering full viewing facilities, live
web-streaming and dedicated market research technology. Baz has been active in
the field of branding and strategic research for 20 years both on the
consultancy and client side. In his previous position he was Director Global
Strategy at Bausch & Lomb. Clients for whom So What? provides strategic research
services in the field of branding include Johnson & Johnson, the Big Issue and
Rohto (world`s biggest eye drop company).

Kadence Business Research
Owen Jenkins,
Tel: 1 (508) 620 1222
Email: ojenkins@kadence.com
or
So What Research Ltd.
Baz van Cranenburgh
Tel: +44 (0)203 274 1099
Email: baz@sowhatresearch.com
or
For further media information, please contact:
Sam White / Georgina D`Arcy at iseepr:
T: +44 (0) 1943 468 007
E: sam@iseepr.co.uk / georgina@iseepr.co.uk.

Copyright Business Wire 2009