IE9 helps drive up Microsoft quality scores

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
March 22, 2012, 4:26 PM GMT+0

Microsoft may tout its new IE9 “the browser you loved to hate” in its ad campaign, but both consumers and early tech adopters alike are perceiving the company’s quality better than or equal to Mozilla in the US these days.

After spending the first three months of this year on quality perception cruise control with adults 18+, a three-week run of good reviews and a self-deprecating promotion reminiscent of Domino’s admission of inferior pizza has recently moved the quality perception needle for Microsoft to its highest level since January 2011.

Microsoft’s quality perception for adults 18+ is significantly higher for adults 18+ than early tech adopters in the same age demo. The latter group has also seen its quality level rise since early March, but Mozilla just caught up with it this past week with the same demo.

Mozilla, which released the 11th iteration of its Firefox browser last week, has also seen its own quality perception rise recently with the general population and early tech adopters.

Both Microsoft and Mozilla were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Qualty score, which asks respondents: “Is it high quality or low quality?” For this research, all respondents were screened in two groups: adults 18+ and adults 18+ who considered themselves early technology adopters.

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.

Microsoft began March 5th with a 42 quality score with adults 18+ just as their first ads kicked in. By the 14th, when IE9 debuted, the score had jumped to 52, while early tech adopters followed with a similar leap from 27 to 38 over the same time period.

Unlike Microsoft, Mozilla’s quality score with early tech adopters has remained higher than the general adult 18+ population. Mozilla began March 5th with a 20 score for adults 18+ and 24 for the adopters. Mozilla released Firefox 11 on March 13th, the day before IE9 debuted – the adult 18+ and adopters scores barely budged.

However, since that time, when both browsers were out, both Mozilla demos moved upward: early tech adopters for Mozilla and Microsoft are virtually tied at around 44, while Mozilla’s adult 18+ quality score rose to 28, still 30 points behind the same demo for Microsoft.