Even in Eastern Bloc, Folks Know of Ford : Trade: Many U.S. brands ranked much lower on quality than on name recognition in a survey, though.
East Bloc consumers recognize a wide range of Western brand names even though many of the products have not been actively marketed or may not be available in their countries, a survey says.
But many U.S. brands ranked much lower on quality than on name recognition, raising disturbing questions for American exporters. The lagging quality perception could give Japanese and Western European competitors an advantage.
Nevertheless, the results suggest East European countries that are opening their borders to trade may be particularly appealing to Western companies looking for new markets, said the brand management consulting firm that conducted the survey.
“We found an overwhelming recognition of brands in what are not market economies,” Stewart Owen, an executive of San Francisco-based Landor Associates, said Wednesday.
“Very few Russians have ever seen a Honda or a Toyota, yet they seem to have a very clear image of it,” he said.
The report was based on interviews with 1,500 consumers in the Soviet Union, Poland and Hungary. Five hundred people in each country were given lists of 400 global brand names and asked to identify the ones they recognized and how they felt about them. The interviews were conducted in April and May.
Sony, the Japanese electronics brand, scored highest on a scale that combined recognition and perceived quality among consumers in the Soviet Union and Poland, the survey said. Sony placed fourth in Hungary, where German auto maker Mercedes-Benz topped the list, it said.
Ford was the lone American company to make the top 10 lists in all three countries. Fanta and Pepsi-Cola joined it among the top 10 in the Soviet Union.
PERESTROIKA CHIC
Here are the 10 most powerful brand names in the Soviet Union, Poland and Hungary, as measured by a survey of 1,500 people conducted by Landor Associates, a San Francisco-based identity management consulting firm.
Soviet Union
1. Sony
2. Adidas
3. Ford
4. Toyota
5. Mercedes-Benz
6. Fanta
7. Pepsi-Cola
8. Volvo
9. Fiat
10. Panasonic
Poland
1. Sony
2. Volvo
3. Mercedes-Benz
4. Adidas
5. Toyota
6. Ford
7. BMW
8. Philips
9. Porsche
10. Honda
Hungary
1. Mercedes-Benz
2. Adidas
3. BMW
4. Sony
5. Porsche
6. Rolls-Royce
7. Jaguar
8. Ford
9. Philips
10. Opel
