American Pulse(TM): 65% Say Bailouts & Buyouts Making It Harder to "Buy American"

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - June 25, 2009) - More than three in five consumers (64.8%) say it's harder now to "Buy American" due to all the bailouts and buyouts as of late, according to the June American Pulse™ (N=4034) Survey. 17.1% say it's not more difficult, while 18.1% aren't sure.

42.3% of consumers worry that international companies buying American brands such as Chrysler, Hummer and Anheuser-Busch will take too many jobs oversees. 32.8% think it's eroding the traditional American landscape. On the other hand, 24.9% think it's good because it is keeping these brands alive.

In the June survey, Americans were also asked to write in their favorite American brand. Interestingly, one-third (33.5%) did not have a preference. Of those who did, Ford tops the list with 19.8%, followed by Chevrolet (9%) and Coca-Cola (4.7%).

What is your favorite American brand? (Top 10)

Ford                   19.8%
Chevrolet               9.0%
Coca-Cola               4.7%
Levi Strauss            4.0%
General Mills           3.7%
Kraft                   2.1%
General Motors          2.0%
Apple                   1.8%
Harley Davidson         1.8%
General Electric        1.7%
---------------------------
No Preference          33.5%

Source: American Pulse-June 09

Over half of adults (57.2%) make a conscious effort to "Buy American."

"According to the people's voices on the blog, a majority of consumers make a conscious effort to 'Buy American,' but find it hard to define 'Made in America,'" said Linda Stegeman, Artafact online focus groups.

Verbatim posts from the BIGresearch and Artafact Blog:

"I don't think there is any significant connection between bailouts and buying American. Global trade has made it both more difficult to 'Buy American,' as well as impractical."

"My guess is that the international companies will run the companies efficiently and keep them afloat. Bye-bye unions! As for my family, we are buying Ford products because they did not accept bail out money."

For complimentary findings: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

About American Pulse™

The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236