Most Famous Brand by State

[Pete]

Interesting...

Sonic only recently went national with it's branding.

What other Oklahoma companies are nationally known?


Interesting they chose Apple over McDonald's for California. Both are among the biggest brands on the planet.

[Pete]

The way they are growing, Hobby Lobby may soon have a very strong national presence.

Dollar/Thrifty would be a candidate but of course they were recently sold to Hertz.

[TAlan CB]

Surprised that North Carolina was'nt Pepsi or Lowes... I understand Coke in Georgia, but Home Depot is also pretty big. Despite opening his first store in Oklahoma, I'm glad Sam settled just across the border in Arkansas.

[Bunty]

Eskimo Joe's

[catch22]

Eskimo Joe's

There are people in OK that don't know what that is.. Much less nationwide.

[Zuplar]

When I think of Kansas I usually think of Pizza Hut. Of course since it is owned by Yum now I guess it doesn't count.

[bluedogok]

Surprised that North Carolina was'nt Pepsi or Lowes... I understand Coke in Georgia, but Home Depot is also pretty big. Despite opening his first store in Oklahoma, I'm glad Sam settled just across the border in Arkansas.

Coca-Cola is a much older and worldwide brand than Home Depot, in fact Chick-fil-A would probably pass Home Depot in brand recognition. Delta Airlines is also a Georgia brand.

When I think of Kansas I usually think of Pizza Hut. Of course since it is owned by Yum now I guess it doesn't count.

There is a whole lot more Yum! visibility in Louisville than Lexmark. Kind of hard to think of anything other than bourbon when it comes to Kentucky, if they had a bourbon brand as large as Jack Daniel's I would think that would be the highest in brand recognition.

I know McDonald's started in California but their HQ has been in Oak Brook, Illinois since 1971.

[venture]

The way they are growing, Hobby Lobby may soon have a very strong national presence.

Dollar/Thrifty would be a candidate but of course they were recently sold to Hertz.

I can't see Hobby Lobby every getting better known than Sonic (if we are focusing on the state's best known). Dollar/Thrifty might rival Sonic...but those don't count anymore.

Surprised that North Carolina was'nt Pepsi or Lowes... I understand Coke in Georgia, but Home Depot is also pretty big. Despite opening his first store in Oklahoma, I'm glad Sam settled just across the border in Arkansas.

Everyone knows (hates) BoA, so that doesn't shock me. Georgia really has to go to Coke, but Delta is probably the strong #2 there. Everyone knows when you die, chances are you have to make a connection in Atlanta.

There are people in OK that don't know what that is.. Much less nationwide.

Exactly. Outside of Stillwater and a few areas where OSU alums rest, no one gives a hoot about Eskimo Joes.

There is a whole lot more Yum! visibility in Louisville than Lexmark. Kind of hard to think of anything other than bourbon when it comes to Kentucky, if they had a bourbon brand as large as Jack Daniel's I would think that would be the highest in brand recognition.

I know McDonald's started in California but their HQ has been in Oak Brook, Illinois since 1971.

Lexmark shocks me some, but I guess most know who they are when they hear the name. Yum! has better known brands, but people wouldn't recognize the corporate name.

I was going to point out that part about McD's but you beat me too it. When Pete mentioned it I had to stop and think "but I just drove by their HQ in Chicago a little over a week ago."

[Pete]

If Mickey D's is in Illinois, why didn't it ace out CAT??

[venture]

If Mickey D's is in Illinois, why didn't it ace out CAT??

I had the same thought.

[ljbab728]

I talk to people around the country on a regular basis when assisting my customers from Hobby Lobby. I almost always get an immediate positive reaction of recognition when I mention their name.

[Bunty]

There are people in OK that don't know what that is.. Much less nationwide.

It doesn't have the world's 2nd most popular T-shirt, after Hard Rock Cafe, for nothing, assuming that's it's not years out of date or a myth. Sonic is probably the only obvious one with Hobby Lobby next.

[MadMonk]

Starbuck's over Microsoft? I don't think so.

[MsProudSooner]

How many states is Sonic in? QuikTrip is growing all the time. I could see them overtaking Sonic.

[Pete]

Sonic (this is a couple of years old):



Sonic operates 3,561 locations in 43 states.


QuikTrip operates 642 stores in 13 states as shown below:

Georgia: Atlanta (128 stores)
Texas: Dallas/Fort Worth (103 stores)
Arizona: Phoenix (86 stores)
Kansas/Missouri: Kansas City (79 stores)
Missouri/Illinois: St. Louis (73 stores)
Oklahoma: Tulsa (68 stores)
Kansas: Wichita (38 stores)
Iowa/Nebraska: Des Moines/Omaha (36 stores)
Carolinas: Greenville/Spartanburg/Charlotte (22 stores)
Arizona: Tucson (17 stores)

[Praedura]

Wow. Did not know they had expanded that much. I would have guessed about 15 or 16 states.

And it's more than even that map showed. A quick search and I found this image that shows (for example) locations in Oregon, Washington, Minnesota,...



Edit: Oh wait, my bad. I was thinking the red states didn't have ones, but they're just new entries (your map is kinda small).

Yep, it's almost every state in the lower 48 now. They're taking over!

[TAlan CB]

I can't see Hobby Lobby every getting better known than Sonic (if we are focusing on the state's best known). Dollar/Thrifty might rival Sonic...but those don't count anymore.



Everyone knows (hates) BoA, so that doesn't shock me. Georgia really has to go to Coke, but Delta is probably the strong #2 there. Everyone knows when you die, chances are you have to make a connection in Atlanta.



Exactly. Outside of Stillwater and a few areas where OSU alums rest, no one gives a hoot about Eskimo Joes.



Lexmark shocks me some, but I guess most know who they are when they hear the name. Yum! has better known brands, but people wouldn't recognize the corporate name.

I was going to point out that part about McD's but you beat me too it. When Pete mentioned it I had to stop and think "but I just drove by their HQ in Chicago a little over a week ago."

What about Love's Truck Stops? they started in Ok and are still headquartered there.
And, of-course, chains move their headquarters after years of originally being from a single place - Phillips 66, Conoco, etc. For those of us who are older, we never thought Phillips 66 would leave Bartlesville. So, we must context this with "what is now from known from this state ".

[Pete]

Loves has approx. 300 locations in 30 states.

[Urbanized]

No question based on Pete's breakdown that Sonic is by far the "most famous" brand HQd in Oklahoma these days. That's a remarkable footprint, especially when you consider that just 20 years ago it was much more of a regional company. It's not as venerable as Coca-Cola or Hershey's or GM, but a pretty good brand to represent us. Especially when you consider some of the other brands listed. Allsup's? I barely have any awareness of that, and I live in a neighboring state. Regional interest only? A piece of the NM flag is part of their logo, fercryinoutloud. Great Harvest Bread Co.? Sounds delicious, but I've never heard of it.

Our brand would have been very different just a few years ago. Kerr-McGee, Phillips 66, Conoco?

Speaking of which, when Devon proposed their building to OCURA a few years ago, they included a "getting to know Devon" section in their proposal that humbly said something along the lines of "we might be bigger than you think we are..." They compared their market cap at the time to other more well-known companies, and pointed out that at $54 billion (IIRC, and obviously this has changed considerably) they were worth more than (among others) Anheuser-Busch (which had just sold to InBev), Nike and Starbucks. Meaning "most famous" is in no way the same as "most valuable."

[bluedogok]

If you are out in West Texas you know what Allsup's is, a convenience store chain.

Yep, "most famous" and position in the market can be entirely separate things. Before the arena and airport projects there weren't that many people outside the A/E business in Oklahoma that knew of Benham because there was so little work done in Oklahoma (other than highway work or the Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake) because most of the clients were large multinational corporations (3M, Coca-Cola, Gatorade/Quaker Oats, Bristol-Myers/Squib, Anheuser-Busch, Ocean Spray, Mobil, etc.) or governments. That was in spite of the fact we were almost a 1,000 person firm worldwide based in OKC with the OKC division and corporate employment of almost 300, Tulsa with 150, St. Louis over 100, 50 or so in St. Paul, and offices in Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta, Northwest Arkansas, Tokyo, Moscow, Mexico City and Guangzhou, China. They used to have offices in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Lauderdale, Washington DC and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that I know of, I'm sure there were others.

[venture]

It doesn't have the world's 2nd most popular T-shirt, after Hard Rock Cafe, for nothing, assuming that's it's not years out of date or a myth. Sonic is probably the only obvious one with Hobby Lobby next.

2nd most popular? I call that a load of bull to be honest. You get away from Stillwater and OK and the brand recognition goes in the toilet. Sounds like a local myth started to prop up a local brand. I equate it to all the "WORLD'S LARGEST" outfits you see along highways in the middle of BFE.

As far as Hobby Lobby being #2 behind Sonic...ehhh. While large, brand recognition probably isn't anywhere near equal to Dollar/Thrifty.

If you ask a random person who Hobby Lobby is they would probably say "No idea, it sounds like a hobby store."

Ask them who Dollar or Thrifty is and they will likely say "Those are the car rental companies at the airports."

In the same breath. Ask people to name a popular hobby store. How many will say Hobby Lobby first over say Michaels whom is more widespread.

[Pete]

I have never, ever seen an Eskimo Joe's t-shirt here in California and I've lived here 20 years.

[Snowman]

I could be convinced it is the 2nd most sold in Stillwater but I would have doubts about any other market being claimed

[bluedogok]

25 years ago Eskimo Joe's claimed such a ranking, the Tulsa World promulgated the story. The t-shirt business has changed greatly since then.

[Plutonic Panda]

Starbuck's over Microsoft? I don't think so.

That and McDonalds should be tied(if not above) Apple.