Burger King seems to have dodged a consumer-perception bullet in the U.S. so far in the aftermath of its recent U.K. horse meat scandal, despite the press attention it received in the U.S., according to YouGov BrandIndex, a daily brand consumer perception research service.
In the U.K., Burger King saw its perception levels quickly drop into the negative territory when it admitted traces of horse DNA had been found in its supplies. Buzz scores in the U.K. declined from 2 percent to -15, while its overall brand health score fell from -8 to -18.
Stateside, Burger King kept its perception ratings relatively steady, with just a recent modest slide, by announcing immediate DNA tests in all countries.
Burger King was measured in the U.S. and U.K. with YouGov BrandIndex's Buzz score, which asks respondents, "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news, or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"
YouGov BrandIndex interviews 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 1.5 million individuals.