Tesco's Buzz Collapses!

Tesco's brand image has collapsed due to it's bad handling of the filthy fuel forecourt fiasco (well done Jon Church - now we see Trevor Datsun representing Tesco instead of course!!). According to mad.co.uk the silicon contamination at the forecourt pumps has seen thousands of cars damaged in South East England, arguably Tesco’s heartland. The supermarket has had to empty its unleaded tanks at 150 forecourts and to compound motorists’ fury the price of petrol has to rise to compensate for a shortage. Tesco has seen its “Buzz”, as measured by YouGov’s BrandIndex tool, fall dramatically since the beginning of the contamination crisis.The Buzz measures whether people have heard positive or negative things about the brand and Tesco has seen a robust rating throughout the year. It registered -3 in March last year but soon rose and in October was hitting 19.

While incidents began to surface over a week ago, it was not until last Wednesday (28 February) that it looked like there was a widespread problem. The impact of the first rumours can be seen in late February with Buzz dropping into minus figures on 20 February. It bumped along at -4 until 23 February then rallied until the confirmation of problems last Thursday (1 March) when it dropped sharply and by last Friday (2 March) the supermarket’s Buzz stood at -9.

Over the same period Tesco also had to deal with a clearance of contaminated humous from its shelves and issue a warning. The supermarket’s Recommend rating is also at its lowest recorded point this year, standing at 31. Last year it reached as high as 44.

The Red Brick Road advertising agency picked up the Tesco account last year. While marketing is only one factor among many influencing perceptions of Tesco, one would hope that the agency’s work helped with the strong Buzz throughout the year. It’s likely the agency is being consulted even now on how to help placate and reassure Tesco’s motoring customers.

Setting the petrol problem aside, Tesco’s Buzz has been falling steadily since the start of the year, and the reasons will be manifold. Among issues having an impact could be the avian flu poultry scare caused by Bernard Matthews and the noise surrounding rival Asda, which has been flexing its muscles with announcements about new openings and initiatives.