Morgan Freeman and Pauley Perrette Close to Knocking Hanks off Top Spot

Manhasset, NY, March 22, 2010 – For years, Tom Hanks has warmed America’s hearts and topped the popularity charts - until now.  According to leading market research company Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company, Hanks, the perennial #1 rated performer, has some serious competition.  The company just completed its January/February 2010 Performer Q study, and found that Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and newcomer actress Pauley Perrette (“Abby” from NCIS) are now challenging Hanks for the top spot. 

Now tied for the highest Q Score rating are Hanks, Freeman and Perrette, respectively.  Rounding out the top 10 performers, among a nationally representative sample of U.S. consumers are:

Top 10 Performers

                                                       FAMILIARITY %       Q SCORE
1  TOM HANKS                                       88                           50
2  MORGAN FREEMAN                            82                           50
3  PAULEY PERRETTE                             42                           50
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4  ROBIN WILLIAMS                               84                           48
5  CLINT EASTWOOD                             85                           46
6  MIKE ROWE*                                     57                           45
7  WILL SMITH                                       90                           44
8  JOHNNY DEPP                                    91                           43
9  BILL COSBY                                       91                           43
10HARRISON FORD                               83                           43

*Host on Dirty Jobs

Source:  Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company / Performer Q National Study: Jan/Feb 2010

“It’s exciting to see the break-out potential in someone like Pauley Perrette, who isn’t broadly known, but viewers who are familiar with her are very enthusiastic,” says Steven Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company.  He adds, “A personality with a lower familiarity but high Q Score is one to monitor for the future.  This is a wonderful opportunity for advertisers, marketers, TV executives, and others looking to get ahead of a potentially big performer.  To be lesser known, but just as well liked as Tom Hanks or Will Smith, says a lot about that personality’s star potential.”

Levitt continues, “The same is true for Mike Rowe, the host on Dirty Jobs.  To score in between enduring favorites Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp is, again, signaling a potential star in the making.”

About “Performer Q”
Performer Q studies are fielded every six months in January and July.  Each study measures 1,800 personalities, whose names and descriptions are submitted by full-study subscribing clients.  Each personality is rated by a nationally representative sample of 1,800 children, teens and adults.  Data are available from earlier studies, dating back to 1964.     

Who is Steven Levitt?
Steven Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company, has tracked the familiarity and appeal of many thousands of personalities, television and cable programs, sports figures, products and brand names, cartoon characters and licensed properties, as well as having conducted custom research and spokesperson evaluations, for over 40 years.  Levitt is recognized as an industry expert in analyzing these trends with his well-known Q Scores rating system, the only one of its kind. 

About Marketing Evaluations, Inc., The Q Scores Company
Since 1963, Marketing Evaluations’ Q Scores have provided clients with data to aid in their marketing, advertising, licensing, and media efforts.  Q Scores are the industry standard for measuring familiarity and appeal of performers, broadcast and cable programs, sports and sports personalities, company and brand names, characters, as well as deceased performers.  Based on its “one of my favorites” concept, Q Scores actually summarize the various perceptions and feelings that consumers have, into a single, but revealing, “likeability” measurement.  Currently, there are eight Q Score services, including Performer Q, TVQ, Cable Q, Cartoon Q, Sports Q, Brand Attachment Q Product Q, Kids Product Q, and Dead Q.  For more information, contact us or visit http://www.qscores.com.

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