How
Strong is your Brand?
The
Brand Asset Valuator helps to measure the brand’s strength
and stature in the market
Brand
equity measurement besides being practical, provides a direction
for strong brand-building. It is not only a number-crunching
exercise, but also probes the consumer’s mind to assign
an appropriate value to a name.
Young
& Rubicam, a major global advertising agency, arrived
at a comprehensive method for valuing brands called the
Brand Asset Valuator. They measured brand equity for 450
global brands and more than 8,000 local brands across twenty-four
countries using thirty-two questions covering four broad
factors:
1.
Differentiation – How distinct is your brand? Brand
health is built and maintained by offering a set of differentiating
promises to consumers and delivering those promises to leverage
value. Rolls-Royce and Disney stand out from other cars
and theme parks.
2.
Relevance – Relevance gauges the personal appropriateness
of a brand to consumers and is strongly tied to household
penetration (the percentage of households that purchase
the brand). Band-Aid, Maggi, Reynolds, Kissan Ketchup are
all strong examples of relevance to the entire household.
3.
Esteem - The consumer's response to a marketer's brand-building
activity is driven by his perception of two factors: quality
and popularity, both of which vary by country and culture.
Brands such as Kodak, Maruti, Pepsi, Amul and Raymonds are
esteemed in the consumer’s mind, based on popularity
more than quality.
4.
Knowledge –The awareness levels about the brand
and what it stands for shows the intimacy that consumers
share with the brand. True knowledge of the brand comes
through brand-building.
Power
Grid: Brand Strength vs. Brand Stature
Brand
Strength: Brands must possess both Differentiation and
Relevance to be strong (Disney, Britannia, Hallmark).
Brand
Stature: This strategic indicator is a combination of
Esteem and Knowledge and reflects current brand performance
(BPL, Pepsi). Esteem increases before Knowledge for chocolates,
soft drinks and other impulse-purchase products.
The
Power Grid sets the strategic process by identifying the
strength or weakness of a brand. On the vertical axis we
plot the brand strength - its relevance and differentiation,
while on the horizontal axis, the brand stature -esteem
and knowledge.
Quadrant
I: Weak brands that could not leverage their strengths.
Quadrant
II: Here the brand managers have not been able to realise
the true potential of the brand. The strategy should be
to build the stature of the brand.
Quadrant
III: The challenge for the brand here would be to continue
being a leader.
Quadrant
IV: The last quadrant spells “Danger” for
the brand, an indicator of eroding potential. These brands
have failed to maintain their Relevant Differentiation (their
core strength). If unattended, their Stature will also begin
to fall. Unless steps are taken to stimulate the differentiation
and relevance, these brands will lose Esteem and could eventually
fade from consumers' consciousness.
The
value of a brand depreciates if there is no continuous value
addition. This is critical for the brand to be a source
of competitive advantage. The task of a marketer is to go
beyond measuring and leveraging the value of the brand and
add perceptible value continuously.
Related
Readings:
1. “Valuing Brands, on Paper and in Truth”; Chevron,
Jacques; Brandweek; Jan 2000
2. “Building Strong Brands”; David A. Aaker; 1996
