Well-Known or Well-Liked? What Q-Ratings Teach Your Brand
What Q-Ratings Teach Your Brand
🕒 3 min read
By Desiree Grace
The mud-slinging, the flattering and not-so-flattering pictures, the accusations about selfish, bad, negligent behavior, the airing of whatever dirty laundry exists: all these election ads got me thinking about Q-ratings.
Much like muckraking, Q-ratings have been around for a while. Conceived in 1963 by an advertising guru, Jack Landis, Q-ratings measure the familiarity and appeal of a brand, celebrity, company, entertainment product (such as a streaming series), or candidate in the USA. The more highly regarded the person, the higher the Q score. Those of us in sales, marketing, public relations, and media use the quotient as a way to quantify what is often an emotional or "gut" reaction toward a person or brand.
How Is a Q-Rating Measured?
HOW is this done? Through email or snail mail, panelists who represent the general population or a specific demographic group (journeyman electricians, small business owners, etc.) are selected. They complete a short survey that measures how well the person or brand is known and liked.
For example:
A. One of my favorites
B. Very good
C. Good
D. Fair
E. Poor
F. Never heard of
The score compares how many people pick "One of my favorites" with how many people have heard of the person at all.
Someone could be very well-known but disliked, resulting in a negative Q-rating. The opposite could also be true. Someone might be well-respected in a small group but not well-known, also resulting in a lower rating.
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity?
Given the circus that is politics today, it's appropriate that P.T. Barnum is credited with saying "there is no such thing as bad publicity." Maybe the slickest talking head with the flashiest ads gets your vote, maybe not. What matters is whether they win the hearts, minds, and votes of the general population. Q-ratings are good predictors of who wins and who loses.
Fame Versus Fit in Brand Endorsements
This also matters when recruiting endorsements for your product or service. The average celebrity or influencer may be well-known, but not as credible as a less flashy subject matter expert or, in some cases, a regular Joe or Jane like your ideal customer. This is where a brand needs to balance the Q-rating against source credibility. You also need to measure against your own brand personality. "Party-time Cruise Lines" might benefit from a Kardashian-esque spokesperson, but a line of hand tools would be better served by a working man or woman.
The Q-rating won't prevent all disastrous pairings, but it can reveal when fame doesn't match the fit. You do not want a spokesperson who doesn't match your brand values or product. You also don't want a partner or spokesperson who is out of touch with the cultural or social context.
Quick Q Check for Your Brand
Known? Would your ideal customers recognize your name?
Liked? Would they rate you "One of my favorites," or just "Fair"?
Fit? Do your spokespeople, partners, and even your salespeople match what your brand stands for?
Not sure how you'd score? We know a consulting firm that runs customer surveys for distributors all the time. We won't name names. (It's us.)
Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Michael Vick, Madonna, and Lance Armstrong are a few examples of endorsement deals that went sideways. The lesson? Check the Q-rating, for starters. If the spokesperson fails to earn a positive score, your brand might end up on the news as yet another example of dirty laundry.
Speaking of "Dirty Laundry," give this early 1980s hit by Don Henley a listen. It still rings true today for Q-ratings, elections, and bad choices in general: Dirty Laundry
And remember, distributors choose "spokespeople" every day: the outside salesperson, the counter staff, and the people in their LinkedIn posts.
Need help cleaning up your brand image? River Heights Consulting can help you make the right choices, especially when it comes to marketing, strategy, hiring, and training. Before you sign your next spokesperson, partner, or new hire, give us a call at 563-514-1104. We'll keep you out of the tabloids and on the positive side of the Q.
Desiree Grace is a respected speaker in the industrial sector and writes spirited, insightful articles for River Heights Consulting's The Distributor Channel, where she helps distributors build brands people both know and like. She survived another election season of attack ads by grading each one on a Q scale. None of them got an A.
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