Does your coffee cup denote how you’ll vote in the Presidential Election?

When you are in need of java fix, are you more likely to head to Starbucks or McDonald’s? Did you ever think that the drive-through you pull up to may indicate which presidential candidate has your vote?

There’s a lot of mud-slinging in the political arena these days—battle lines have been drawn and it seems like every other TV commercial is a negative campaign ad. So we like to lighten the mood here at BIGinsight™ every now and again and look at some unique voter segments to see how they plan to vote in the presidential election. First up were the coffeehouse titans.

I should start by saying that Independent Voters will likely decide the election. The political atmosphere is anything but bi-partisan and Republicans and Democrats appear to be behind their candidate. But Independent Voters who plan to vote in November are split. Our analysis shows that over a quarter of these voters are undecided and therein lies the opportunity for the presidential hopefuls.

So where, oh where (sorry—couldn’t help myself) can these voters be? Our “Coffee Cup Politics” analysis for August takes a look at where they go most often for their coffee and which candidate coffee drinkers from each coffee shop tend to prefer. Check it out…

• Likely Independent Voters who still haven’t made a decision are most likely to head to Starbucks.
  • 13.9% saying that’s where they purchase coffee most often.
• McDonald’s comes in at number two among this segment.
  • 9.3% go there most for coffee.
• Likely Independent Voters who go to Starbucks most often seem more inclined to cast a ballot for Obama.
• Those who prefer McDonald’s coffee are more likely to vote for Romney.
• It’s interesting to note that over a quarter of each voter group remains on the fence and historically unsure votes tend to end up in the challenger’s tally.

For further insight, take a listen as our Consumer Insights Director, Pam Goodfellow, discusses the analysis on one of our favorite local morning radio programs: http://ow.ly/dbpWf

Source: BIGinsight.com
2012, Prosper®

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One in Four McDonald’s Customers Unhappy with Their Health

Is there a sad-faced clown behind Ronald McDonald’s smiling veneer? According to new analysis by BIGinsight™ of fast food restaurant customers*, McDonald’s patrons are the unhappiest** with their health. Conversely, Chick-fil-A diners reported being the happiest, followed by Subway and Arby’s.

McDonald’s, though, doesn’t stand alone when it comes to customers at odds with their wellbeing. More than one in five Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Burger King diners also indicated they were “totally unhappy” or “unhappy” with their health.

While McDonald’s and other burger-and-fries eateries are often lambasted for fueling America’s problems with obesity, this may not just be a case of “you are what you eat.” After all, Chick-fil-A does serve up fried chicken and those tasty waffle fries which I love to dip in mayo. Many sandwich offerings at Arby’s tip the scales at 500+ calories apiece, and at Subway, that $5 footlong will cost you much more in fat and calories when you add bacon, double cheese, and extra mayo [OK, maybe I have a mayo problem.]

The difference between fast food customers who are happier with their health, though, is that away from the drive-thru, these people are more prone to exercise [see chart], count their calories, focus on fat intake, and watch their health in general. So, waffle-fries-with-mayo is probably more like a guilty pleasure than the lunchtime norm to these patrons.

Need more evidence? About three in ten McDonald’s customers say they don’t do anything with regard to their health (such as exercising; watching calories, carbs, salt or fat intake; buying organic; etc.) Burger King connoisseurs aren’t far behind with this sentiment.

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

* McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, and KFC customers were analyzed for this report. “Customers” are defined as those who eat most often at a given fast food restaurant (an unaided, write-in response).

** Respondents were posed with this question: On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being “Totally Unhappy,” and 5 being “Totally Happy,” how would you rate your happiness level with your Health?

Source: BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey – FEB-12 (N = 8716, 2/1 – 2/8/12)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.