Lakers C Dwight Howard's Q Score has fallen by seven points in the past year, and the numbers "aren't pretty," according to data from Marketing Evaluations Inc. cited by Sean Deveney of SPORTING NEWS. Q Score data shows that Howard in January '12 was recognized by 28% of those polled, and his Q Score, "which measures the familiarity and appeal of celebrities in the country," was 20. The "average for athletes is about 16." Last September, during Howard's "strange and miserable season" with the Magic, his score was "down to 15." By January of this year, his Q Score "came in at a 13." Marketing Evaluations VP Henry Schafer, whose company created Q Score, said, "That's a very big drop. Considering there was no social indiscretion, you don't usually see a drop like that. It looks like the last year and everything that has happened has taken its toll." Deveney wrote, "All the more surprising is that Howard went from Orlando to Los Angeles, and generally, that sort of move to a bigger market would be expected to boost a Q Score." Another surprise is that Heat F LeBron James, "whose image has undergone a revamp, saw his Q Score hold steady, despite winning a gold medal in the London Olympics and being the subject of an oft-aired Sprint commercial that shows him as a friend and father." Last September, James' Q Score was a 17, and he "registered a 17 again in January" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 2/8).
