The Q Score (popularly known as Q-Rating) is a measurement of the familiarity and appeal of a brand, celebrity, company, or entertainment product (e.g., television show) used in the United States.
The Q Score is a metric that determines a "quotient" ("Q") factor through mail and online panelists who make up representative samples of the population.
[2] Q Scores are calculated for the population as a whole as well as by demographic groups such as age, education level, gender, income, or marital status.
Other companies have created alternative measures and metrics related to the likability, popularity, and appeal of athletes, brands, celebrities, entertainment offerings, or licensed properties.
Emotional bonding with a show means stronger viewer involvement and audience attention, which are very desirable to sponsors.
For example, in 2000, IBM hired Marketing Evaluations to calculate the Q Score for Deep Blue, the supercomputer that defeated chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
Deep Blue’s Q Score was 9, meaning the computer was as familiar and appealing at the time as Carmen Electra, Howard Stern, and Bruce Wayne.