Chicago Chapter of American Marketing Association Reveals Chicago's Most Recognizable Brands

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 11, 2014) -  A survey of Chicago marketing professionals has identified the most recognizable brands in the Chicago area -- a diverse mix of corporations, sports teams and organizations lead by McDonald's, Walgreens, Kraft, Chicago Cubs and Boeing as the top five.

The Chicago chapter of the American Marketing Association recently surveyed its membership with the open ended question: "What are some of the most recognizable brands in the Chicago Metro area?" Participants included marketing professionals in a wide range of age groups and career levels, and across multiple marketing industry disciplines. Chicago AMA respondents ranked the 25 most recognizable brands as follows:

McDonald's (33%)
Walgreens (25%)
Kraft/Mondelez (25%)
Cubs (22%)
Boeing (22%)
United Airlines (18%)
Allstate (16%)
Bears (16%)
Sears (15%)
Wrigley (14%)
Groupon (14%
Bulls (14%)
Blackhawks (13%)
Tribune (12%)
White Sox (12%)
Abbot Labs (9%)
Motorola (9%)
Miller / Coors (6%)
CTA (6%)
Pepsi (6%)
Northwestern Univ. (6%)
Aon (6%)
Goose Island (5%)
Jewel (5%)
Sara Lee / Hillshire (5%)

"This survey revealed several additional findings of particular interest," said Darcy Schuller, president of Chicago AMA. "We found, for example, that our top five companies were recognized by marketing professionals regardless of their age or experience, while respondents aged 40 years or older were more likely to recognize our regional sports teams as top brands compared to younger respondents."

Ms. Schuller added that, when asked to rank a list of Chicago-area corporate brands, excluding sports teams, the top ten most recognizable brands shifted somewhat:

McDonald's (86%)
Walgreens (72%)
United Airlines (60%)
Kraft Foods/Mondelez (48%)
Allstate (47%)
Boeing (34%)
Sears Holding (30%)
Motorola (19%)
Abbot Labs (16%)
Sara Lee / Hillshire (12%)

"Another key conclusion to be drawn from this is that competition for brand awareness remains of primary importance among the many world-class corporations and organizations in and around Chicago," Ms. Schuller said. "And our vibrant marketing community is a primary driver of those awareness efforts that so profoundly impact long-term corporate and organizational success."

About Chicago AMA
For over 75 years the Chicago AMA has served Chicago's vital business community plus area colleges & universities through a wide range of benefits & services for marketers. With more than 1,100 members, it is the oldest and largest chapter of the American Marketing Association. Chicago AMA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by over 100 volunteers annually. Their BrandSmart Conference has been the Midwest's leading forum on branding thought leadership for the last 10 years and is attended by 250 senior level marketers eager to learn about best practices and leading edge marketing from industry experts. Additional information on the Chicago AMA is available at Chicagoama.org.