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Fascinating map shows the most loved local consumer brands in EVERY state of America – so what does it say about where YOU live?
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Cowboys branded their cattle in the old days of the Wild West, to mark their territory and protect what is theirs. But Americans have become none the less attached to their precious local brands.
A new analysis of more than 500 brands — searching nearly two million tweets posted by the brand’s devoted customers across the United States — has revealed the most loved local brand in each state.
Hometown favorites won, with sock manufacturer Darn Tough Vermont of Vermont scoring a positivity score of 92.6 percent, the highest score overall.
What’s popular in the state where you live? And can you stand the brand itself?
Armed with nearly two million brand-related tweets as data, OnDeck ran a sentiment analysis using Hugging Face API, looking for the highest percentage of positive feedback. The one consistent feature of each local favorite was how unexpected they were
Hometown favorites won, OnDeck found, with Vermont-based sock manufacturer Darn Tough Vermont scoring a positivity score of 92.6 percent, the highest overall ranking
The map was created by financial services company OnDeck, which began compiling a list of brands that originated in a specific U.S. state.
OnDeck then began tracking the brands’ reach on Twitter (which means there’s a small chance that a few well-loved, but very offline, companies were lost in the analysis).
Armed with those nearly two million brand-related tweets as their data points, the company then conducted a sentiment analysis, with Hugging Face APIon a sample of posts tagged each brand’s official Twitter account.
According to their statistics, the top official brand for each state is the only locally founded company with the highest percentage of tagged “@” tweets determined to portray the brand in a positive light.
The one consistent feature of each of these favorite brands is how quirky and unexpected they were.
Few Americans associate pizza with the desert Southwest, but local favorites Pizza Inn in Texas and Peter Piper Pizza in Arizona scored the most highly rated in their states at 55.2 percent and 55.3 percent, respectively.
Few Americans associate pizza with the desert Southwest, but local favorites Pizza Inn in Texas and Peter Piper Pizza in Arizona scored the most highly rated in their states
If you really want the locals’ favorite Southwestern cuisine, then you need to head to Georgia in the Southeast: Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill turned out to be the most loved eatery, analyzed with 81.0 percent positive tweets.
South Dakotans can’t get enough of the local electronic scoreboard maker, Daktronics (56.9 percent), whose customers include the NFL and arenas around the world.
The apparent state pride in the name must be part of Daktronics’ appeal, as the Brookings, South Dakota-founded company has few opportunities to show off their product in the state.
If the New York Times explained, “The nearest major league ballpark is a four-hour drive from this city, which has barely enough population to fill the arenas and stadiums where the high-tech screens can be seen.”
Landlocked Tennessee’s favorite local brand, of course, is MasterCraft Boat Company (62.1 percent), which has been selling thousands of luxury boats internationally each year for more than half a century.
Strangest of all, however, is Delaware, a state known for its highly popular and highly lax incorporation laws. It hardly has a popular brand.
Delaware’s highest-rated local brand, telecommunications giant Verizon, had more negative tweets (53.3 percent) than positive ones (20.2 percent).