Sheetz & Shell Among 2015 Harris Poll Brands of the Year
NEW YORK — Sheetz Inc. and Shell gasoline are among the Brands of the Year named in the 2015 Harris Poll EquiTrend study. The annual list honors brands that rank highest in brand equity, which is based on familiarity, quality and consideration.
More than 38,000 Americans assessed more than 1,400 brands across 148 categories in this year's 27th annual study.
"Brands that build and keep their promise over time — and develop strong differentiation — stay relevant for the long term," said Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at Harris Poll. "Strong equity has value and can sustain companies through hard times."
Other Brands of the Year related to the convenience channel include:
Consumer Packaged Goods
- Chocolate Candy: Hershey's Kisses
- Non-Chocolate Candy: Reese's Pieces
- Premium Chocolate: Ghirardelli
Financial Services
- Mobile Payment: PayPal
- Payment Card: Visa
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Products
- OTC Children's Pain Relief: Children's Tylenol
- OTC Cold/Allergy: Vicks Cold and Flu Products (DayQuil/NyQuil)
- OTC Digestive Aid: TUMS
- OTC Fiber Supplement: Metamucil
- OTC Laxative: Dulcolax
- OTC Pain Relief: Advil Pain Reliever
- OTC Sleep Aid: Advil PM
Retail
- Mass Merchandiser: Target Stores
- Pharmacy: CVS Pharmacy
- Value Store: Dollar Tree
- Warehouse Club: Costco
- South Region Grocery Store: Publix
- Midwest Region Grocery Store: Hy-Vee
- Northeast Region Grocery Store: Wegmans
- West Region Grocery Store: Costco (groceries)
- Online Grocery: Amazon Prime Pantry
Travel/Entertainment
- Burger Restaurant: In-N-Out Burger
- Casual Dining Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse
- Chicken Restaurant: Chick-fil-A
- Coffee & Quick-Service Restaurant: Krispy Kreme
- Fast Casual Mexican Restaurant: Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Italian Dining Restaurant: Carrabba's Italian Grill
- Pizza Chain: Pizza Hut
- Sandwich Shop: Subway
Additionally, this year's study marked the first time that EquiTrend measured mobile payments. While PayPal leads its competitors by a wide margin as the established "click and pay" brand, mobile payments are also poised to transform very quickly, the Harris Poll found.
"Market fragmentation, rolling rebranding and merchants waiting for the shakeout before investing in systems has gotten in the way of adoption," Sinopoli said. "When one of these brands gets the execution right and merchant acceptance hits critical mass, consumers appear ready to jump on board. Visa has changed its mobile wallet branding from V.me to Visa Checkout. MasterCard's PayPass is now MasterPass. Both payment cards are strong financial brands, and clearly the intent is to extend that esteem and solidity to these product extensions."
The full list of the 2015 Harris Poll EquiTrend Brands of the Year is available here.