5-Hour Energy hits category high: competitors suffer negative buzz

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
July 24, 2012, 4:33 PM GMT+0

5-Hour Energy is not only boosting the vitality of its customers, but its own public perception, putting it in a class all its own among energy drinks in the US.

Thanks apparently to an aggressive ad campaign promising everything from a better golf game to a more productive work day, the brand’s consumer perception has broken out like no other energy drink, outpacing its competitors who are mired in negative public opinion.

5-Hour Energy received the biggest consumer perception gain of all beverage brands in the first half of 2012. As a matter of fact, it is the only energy drink brand with positive consumer perception levels.

Trailing behind 5-Hour Energy, in order, are Monster and AMP with Red Bull lagging furthest behind in perception.

5-Hour Energy, Monster, AMP and Red Bull were measured 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?” All respondents are adults 18+.

YouGov BrandIndex measurement scores range from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.

5-Hour Energy started off the year in the same boat as its rivals – more negative perception than positive, hovering in the -3 to -4 score range, with Red Bull significantly behind the others at -12.

By mid-January, 5-Hour Energy had broken above the zero mark and never looked back: by February 2nd, it had hit a 7 buzz score, settling back down to zero in mid-April, and that’s when the gritty cowboy ads kicked in, sending the score to a category high of 10, where it resides today.

Monster experienced a couple of run ups during the first half of the year, touch zero in both February and early June, but was unable to sustain the positive traction, and it has recently drifted down to its current score of -1.

AMP also generated some positive trends during the first half, and approached, but never quite reached the zero mark. Its current Buzz score is -3.

Red Bull’s buzz score started the year at -12 and made it as high as -7 in mid-March but never got close to that mark again. Red Bull’s current buzz score is -11, nearly where it started the year.