Hooters woos women: Wins men

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
March 05, 2013, 10:16 PM GMT+0

Hooter’s strategy of improving perception with US women seems to have been making gradual progress since last fall.

Since being bought by a group of private equity firms last year, Hooters has tinkered with its décor, added salads to the menus and recently launched a new set of “Step Into Awesome” TV spots showing they are more than a sports bar. Both Hooter’s female and male consumer perception have been inching up since last November, although for women, the chain still has far more negative perception than positive. For men, Hooter’s now receives equal positive and negative feedback.

Hooter’s is currently at its best Impression score with women since July 2012. For men, the brand has spent most of 2013 with a slightly positive score. This is the longest run of positive Impression scores since BrandIndex started tracking the brand in 2007.

YouGov BrandIndex measured Hooter’s using its Impression score, determined from asking respondents: "Do you have a general positive feeling about the brand?" All results for this research are for adults 18+.

Last August, the women’s Impression score for Hooter’s stood at -26 while for men, it was -3.

Fast forward to this past Monday: women’s Impression score moved to -21, and for men, it was 2.

Impression Scores for Hooters: Male, Female