how to conduct a brand audit 080715
TRANSCRIPT
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
C O N S U M E R I N S I G H T S F O R S U S TA I N I N G B R A N D R E L E VA N C E
Copyright © 2015 Brand Amplitude LLC All Rights Reserved – May Not Be Reproduced Without Permission
HOW TO CONDUCT A BRAND AUDIT
Carol Phillips & Judy Hopelain August 2015
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
CONTENTS
§ What is a Brand Audit?
§ Helpful Frameworks
§ How to Apply the Frameworks
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BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
WHAT IS A BRAND AUDIT?
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§ A Brand Audit describes and evaluates the current state of a brand and its effecPveness in achieving a company’s business objecPves
§ This assessment is the first step in brand strategy development.
Note: While we refer to company throughout, the process works equally well for other types of organizations and brands.
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
WHY CONDUCT A BRAND AUDIT?
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“A brand audit requires understanding the sources of brand equity from the perspective of both the firm and the consumer. From the perspective of the firm, what products and services are currently being offered to consumers and how are they being marketed and branded? From the perspective of the consumer, what deeply held perceptions and beliefs create the true meaning of brands and products?”
– Kevin Keller, Strategic Brand Management
§ A Brand Audit reveals a brand’s true posiPon and meaning to its stakeholders.
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
HOW AUDITS ARE USED
§ Assess how well the brand delivers against company objecPves
§ IdenPfy customer wants, needs, and trends at the category level
§ Inventory and categorize brand porXolio elements and assets (trademarks, sub-‐brands, logos, taglines)
§ Evaluate the brand’s current image (how it is perceived by customers and other key stakeholders)
§ IdenPfy potenPal sources of differenPaPon, tablestakes, vulnerabiliPes
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USED FOR:
§ Diagnosing brand strengths and idenPfying potenPal vulnerabiliPes or shortcomings.
§ Developing value proposiPon, idenPty and posiPoning.
NOT USED FOR:
§ CompePPve benchmarking
§ Brand tracking
§ Brand health assessment
Brand Audits…
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
BRAND AUDITS ORGANIZE INFORMATION
n Brand audits take many forms – there is no single magic format.
n Regardless of the form your audit takes, the perspecPve is always that of the company and how the brand supports its overall objecPves.
n To complete a brand audit, you will need to first idenPfy your best informaPon sources.
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n As with a SWOT analysis or financial audit, a brand audit organizes and disPlls criPcal company informaPon to make it easier to digest and recognize strategic implicaPons.
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
TYPES OF INFORMATION REQUIRED
§ InformaPon for a brand audit o_en exists outside of markePng, so be sure to ask your colleagues.
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Corporate InformaAon • Company mission, vision
and values statements • Financial performance
and trends (e.g., revenue, profits, margins)
• Customer service records • Patents and other
intellectual property
Industry InformaAon • Third party research about
the compePtors in your industry (e.g., financial analysts, syndicated market research, government agencies, industry associaPons)
• Your company’s own research studies (e.g., tracking research, focus groups)
MarkeAng InformaAon • Current and past
adverPsing and promoPonal collateral for your brand and compePtors (within and beyond your specific category)
• Social media reports and conversaPon analyses
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
§ Once you have idenPfied the best informaPon sources, the next step is to organize the most relevant informaPon into four categories.
GETTING STARTED
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§ Next, describe and evaluate the current state of the brand by idenPfying within each of the four informaPon categories:
§ The assets that can be leveraged
§ Any liabiliPes or issues that need to be addressed or miPgated
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IN OUTLINE FORM, YOUR AUDIT MIGHT LOOK LIKE THIS… YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE THE TEMPLATE THAT FOLLOWS TO PRESENT IT
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
COMPANY ASSESSMENT
§ The company assessment focuses on the capabiliPes and competencies required to deliver what customers need and how you measure up. What do you do well? Where do you need to improve?
§ This assessment highlights your strengths and liabiliPes as an organizaPon, not as a brand.
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How well does the brand support the long-term growth strategy of the business? How effectively does it leverage the organization’s competencies?
Assets: Liabilities:
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
CUSTOMER ASSESSMENT
§ The most important informaPon at this stage is understanding what drives customer choice at the category and brand levels.
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How compelling and valuable is the brand to users? How well does it resonate with its target audience?
Customer Assessment
Segment 1
Segment 2
Demographic description (e.g., age, gender, education, income,)
Relevant interests and psychographics
Current customer needs (category decision drivers)
Brand decision criteria and barriers
Emerging customer needs (trends)
§ Aim to understand what customers are trying to accomplish in their lives. Look beyond the obvious funcPonal benefits to how they want to feel or be seen as a result of their choices.
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
MARKET ASSESSMENT
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Their Competitive Assets: Their Competitive Liabilities
Competitive Assessment How unique is the brand relative to
competitors? How well does the brand take
market dynamics into account?
§ The compePPve frame of reference may not be obvious. Think like a customer, what do they think are their alternaPves?
§ The compePPve set may be direct, like other providers of the same product or service, or indirect, like a different category or doing nothing at all!
Their Competitive Assets: Their Competitive Liabilities
Their Competitive Assets: Their Competitive Liabilities
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
BRAND IMAGE ASSESSMENT
§ This assessment focuses on how your brand is perceived by your customers, employees and other important stakeholder groups.
§ If you don’t have recent research or insights to inform this assessment, it’s a good idea to get them rather than assume you know.
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Brand Assets: Brand Liabilities
How in-sync are customer perceptions with company positioning?
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
3-‐CIRCLE BRAND ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
§ All of this informaPon is summarized in the 3-‐Circle Assessment. This framework helps disPnguish what is disPncPve about your brand from what is shared.
§ It is a decepPvely simple and powerful way to organize a lot of disparate informaPon and make brand strategy implicaPons apparent.
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Potential Differentiators
Vulnerabilities Tablestakes
Brand Strengths
Competitor Strengths
Shared traits that are important to customers, the “must haves” or “points of parity”
Ideas or traits that are important to customers and unique to the brand
Ideas that are unique to competitors and important to customers
Customer Needs
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
Potential Differentiators
Our Vulnerabilities
Tablestakes
Points of Parity (Category Benefits)
• • • •
Consumer Wants & Needs
• • • • • • •
Competitive Brand Differences
• • • • • • •
Consumer Needs Brand Strengths
Competitor Strengths
Potential Brand Differences
• • • • • • •
AT THIS POINT YOUR AUDIT MIGHT LOOK LIKE THIS….
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BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
BRAND ASSET INVENTORY
§ The final step is to inventory the intellectual, verbal and visual assets of the brand. What are your strengths? What new assets should be developed?
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Brand Asset Inventory Asset Description Assessment
(Memorability, Relevance, Uniqueness)
Logo/Trademarks, Patents & Protected Innovations or Features
Core Competencies & Industry Distinctions
Brand Perceptions/Associations
Ongoing campaigns or campaign elements
Testimonials/Cases
Sponsorships/Partnerships/Endorsements
Characters, Slogans, Tagline
BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
KEY TAKEAWAYS
n A brand audit organizes key informaPon to make strategic implicaPons about target segment needs, frame of reference, potenPal differenPators, vulnerabiliPes and points of parity clear.
n Brand audits reflect the perspecPve of the company and its stakeholders.
n Several frameworks are helpful in conducPng a brand audit
n Customer Assessment
n 3-‐Circle Assessment
n Brand Asset Inventory
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BRAND AMPLITUDE, LLC AUGUST 2015
HOW WE CAN HELP
ü Audit your brand to idenPfy gaps and opportuniPes ü Generate ideas for closing the gaps ü Develop a compelling, energizing brand idenPty and audience-‐specific posiPonings that align with the idenPty
ü Measure and track your brand’s health over Pme
Judy Hopelain @judyhopelain [email protected]
Carol Phillips @carol_phillips
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