Hershey, Kraft Foods and Kellogg Have The Most Innovation Equity With Consumers, According to New Temkin Group Research

Online, November 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A new research report published by Temkin Group, url:http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/report-innovation-equity-quotient/] Innovation Equity Quotient [/url], examines consumers' willingness to try new products and services.

Innovation is a hot topic at most large organizations. Firms make significant investments to create new and novel offerings to generate revenues. But innovations won't go anywhere unless customers are willing to try them. To understand this demand-side component of innovation, Temkin Group created the Innovation Equity Quotient (IEQ) that gauges consumers' openness to trying new products and services.

Using feedback from 5,000 U.S. consumers, Temkin Group calculated the IEQ for 50 of the world's largest brands. At the top of the list, Hershey garnered an IEQ of 52.8% while Pfizer came in at 50th with an IEQ of 19.0%.

"It's much easier to be a successful innovator if your customers are willing to try your new offerings" states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

The companies with the five highest IEQ are Hershey, Kraft Foods, Kellogg, McDonald's and Nestle. The research examined responses across age groups, income levels, gender, and ethnicity. Here are some highlights from the report:

➢ Eight of the top 10 companies in IEQ are consumer packaged goods firms.
➢ Google, which is the 8th rated company, is also the highest scoring technology company, beating out Microsoft at 18th and Apple at 18th.
➢ Hershey has the highest IEQ with the older and low-income consumers while Google has the highest IEQ with young and wealthy consumers.
➢ Nintendo has the largest IEQ disparity across age groups.
➢ Apple has the largest IEQ disparity across income levels.
➢ Nike has the largest IEQ disparity across ethnic groups.

According to Temkin: "Companies need to make it easier for consumers to try their new offerings."

This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters .

For more information about Temkin Group, visit Temkin Group .