Brand equity management system

Developing a Brand Equity Measurement and Management System

Learning Objectives
1. Describe the new accountability in terms of ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment).

2. Create an understanding of analytics dashboards as a tool for monitoring performance and the implications of brand investments.

3. Outline the two main steps in conducting a brand audit and how to execute a digital marketing review.

4. Describe how to design, conduct, and interpret a tracking study.

5. Identify the steps in implementing a brand equity management system.

Overview
The concept of a brand equity measurement system is introduced. Customer-based brand equity is the differential effect that knowledge about the brand has on customer response to marketing about that brand. Two basic approaches to measuring brand equity include the indirect approach (identifying and tracking brand knowledge) and the direct approach (impact of brand knowledge on consumer response).

Implementing a brand equity measurement system involves three steps: conducting brand audits, designing brand tracking studies, and establishing a brand equity management system.

A brand audit is a consumer-focused exercise to assess the health of the brand, uncover its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage its equity. The brand audit consists of two steps: the brand inventory and the brand exploratory.

Tracking studies measure consumer attitudes toward the brand on a consistent basis over time and provide a contemporary picture of the state of the brand. Five key measures can be used to capture the consumer mindset: brand awareness, brand associations, brand attitudes, brand attachment, and brand activity or experience.

Chapter Outline

I. Preview

1. The customer-based brand equity (CBBE) concept provides guidance about how we can measure brand equity:

a. CBBE is the differential effect that knowledge about the brand has on customer response to marketing of that brand.

b. An indirect approach can assess potential sources of CBBE by identifying and tracking consumers’ brand knowledge.

c. A direct approach can assess the actual impact of brand knowledge on consumer response to different aspects of the marketing program.

d. Marketers can and should use both approaches.

2. A brand equity measurement system is a set of research procedures designed to provide marketers with timely, accurate, and actionable information about brands so they can make the best possible tactical decisions in the short run and strategic decisions in the long run:

a. The goal is to achieve a full understanding of the sources and outcomes of brand equity and be able to relate the two as much as possible.

b. The ideal brand equity measurement system would provide complete, up-to-date, and relevant information about the brand and its competitors to the right decision makers at the right time within the organization.

c. Three steps are involved in implementing brand equity measurement system: conducting brand audits, designing brand tracking studies, and establishing a brand equity management system.

II. The New Accountability

1. Virtually every marketing dollar spent today must be justified as both effective and efficient in terms of return on marketing investment (ROMI).

2. It is often hard to link activities that improve brand equity to short-term, incremental profits; it is critical to measure long-term value and impact on consumers.

3. The digital economy has an emphasis on strong, long-term relationships and networks rather than immediate profitability.

4. Marketers need new tools and procedures that clarify and justify the value of their expenditures beyond ROMI.

III. Conducting Brand Audits

1. A brand audit is a comprehensive examination of a brand to discover its sources of brand equity.

2. It is designed to learn how consumers think, feel, and act toward brands and products so the company can make informed strategic positioning decisions.

3. A marketing audit is a comprehensive, independent, systematic examination that takes place at specific time intervals to learn about the marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view of determining problem areas and opportunities:

a. First step is agreement on objectives, scope, and approach.

b. Second step is data collection.

c. Third step is report preparation and presentation.

4. In contrast, a brand audit is a more externally, consumer-focused exercise to assess the health of the brand, uncover its sources of brand equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage its equity.

5. The brand audit can set strategic direction for the brand; management should conduct one whenever important shifts in strategic direction are likely.