It sounds simple: boost your brand equity, and watch profits soar. But many companies stumble in trying to manage their brands’ performance.
Consider Levi-Strauss. In the mid-1990s, it launched a brand-equity measurement system that suggested the appeal of its flagship 501 jeans was slipping. But its response to that data was flawed: the company took too long, and spent too little, to mount a marketing campaign that would restore its brand equity. Worse, Levi-Strauss’s advertising messages to its target youth market missed their mark. Its market share shriveled.
To strengthen your brand, Keller suggests using a brand report card—a tool showing how your brand stacks up on the 10 traits shared by the world’s strongest brands. For example, how well does your brand deliver benefits consumers truly desire? How strongly have you positioned it against rivals? How consistent are your marketing messages about your brand?
Use the brand report card, and you identify the actions needed to maximize your brand equity. Your reward? Customers’ enduring devotion—and the profits that come with it.
The Idea in Practice
Keller recommends assessing your brand on the following attributes:
Your brand…#Which means…#Example1. Delivers benefits customers desire.#It creates an engaging customer experience.#Starbucks delivers the romance and sense of community defining Italian coffee bars and appeals to all senses—not just taste.2. Stays relevant.#Elements of the brand, such as the type of person who uses the brand, are modified to fit the times.#In marketing its razor blades, Gillette tweaks images of men at work and play to reflect contemporary trends.3. Is priced based on consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s value.#The nature of the product—for example, premium versus household staple—should influence price.#Through “everyday low pricing,” Procter & Gamble aligned its prices with consumer perceptions of its products as household staples.4. Is properly positioned.#It clearly communicates its similarities to and differences from competing brands.#Visa labels its cards “Gold” and “Platinum” to equate its status with American Express cards. But it also showcases its cards’ superiority through ads featuring desirable locations that don’t accept American Express.5. Is consistent.#Marketing communications don’t send conflicting messages over time.#Michelob’s market share shriveled over an 18-year period characterized by inconsistent advertising about when customers should drink their beer.6. Fits sensibly into your brand portfolio.#Brands work logically together.#Clothing retailer Gap Inc.’s Old Navy brand targets the broad mass market, the Gap brand covers basic style-and-quality terrain, and the Banana Republic brand anchors the high-end market.7. Has an integrated marketing strategy.#All marketing activities and channels communicate the same messages about the brand, solidifying the brand’s identity.#Coca-Cola’s logo, promotions, corporate sponsorship, and interactive Web site all reinforce the company’s key values, such as “originality” and “classic refreshment.”8. Has meanings that managers understand.#Managers know consumers’ different perceptions of the brand.#Gillette protects the brand identity for its traditional manual razors by marketing its electric razors under the separate Braun name.9. Receives sustained support.#Companies consistently invest in building and maintaining brand awareness.#A consumer products company continues its advertising and marketing efforts even after building a positive image in consumers’ minds.10. Is constantly monitored.#Companies use a formal brand-equity-management system.#After Disney’s brand audit revealed that consumers resented excessive exposure of the Disney characters, the company decided not to co-brand a mutual fund.
Building and properly managing brand equity has become a priority for companies of all sizes, in all types of industries, in all types of markets. After all, from strong brand equity flow customer loyalty and profits. The rewards of having a strong brand are clear.