September 2005Rashi Glazer and Teck Ho1 Brand Equity Assessment Study September 2 nd 2005

September 2005 Rashi Glazer and Teck Ho 1

Brand Equity Assessment Study

September 2nd 2005

http://usa.autodesk.com/


Goals of Brand Equity Study

The value of an “extra” unit of brand equity – e.g., if we move from “x” to “y” on a brand equity “scale,” how much is this “worth” (compared to other attributes)?

The investment required or cost to achieve an extra unit of brand equity – this is the brand equity “response function”.


Project Scope

Measure Autodesk’s brand equity in three product categories (Revit, Inventor, and Civil 3D)

Determine the appropriateness of an umbrella branding strategy (e.g., Autodesk Civil 3D versus Civil 3D)

Assess the potential ROI of advertising campaign in brand equity enhancement

Understand how customers choose and make tradeoffs among product features in purchasing decision

Demonstrate the “proof of concept” of the Conjoint methodology


Conjoint Methodology

A product or service is simply a bundle of relevant features

Relevant features include brand, price, functionality, compatibility, ease of use, technical support (determined by focus groups)

The Conjoint methodology allows us to quantify the importance of each feature (and its levels) in customers’ purchase decision

It is the most widely used methodology in marketing research in figuring out brand equity and customer utility function


Product Features and Levels

Brand Autodesk Competitor 1 Competitor 2Autodesk Revit ArchiCAD Bentley Microstation

Price Low Medium High$3,695 $4,195 $4,695

Functionality High Medium LowBuilding Design flavored

drafting systemObject oriented CAD

systemParametric Building Information Modeler

Compatability High Medium Low

Seamless translation of data between different

software; looks and feels the same

Requires a few steps and keyboard commands to

translate between different software

Difficult to export and/or import to and from other

software without extensive commands

Ease of Use High Medium LowExtremely intuitive: easy to figure out commands

without the use of a manual or technical

support

Can figure out commands with trial and

error and moderate technical support or the

use of a manual

Need to rely extensively on a manual and

technical support to figure out commands

Technical Support High Medium LowImmediate 24/7 “live

person” support, including site visits if required; less than 1

minute telephone wait-time

Menu-driven automated technical support

supplemented by live-person telephone support (within 1 hour) if required

Menu-driven automated support; if required, live-person call-back within

24 hours


Approach

Qualitative phase: Six focus groups 3 Products – Revit, Inventor, Civil 3D

Customers and Prospects

Relevant product features: Brand, price, functionality, compatibility, ease of use, technical support

Quantitative phase Involving 557 customers and prospects Web-based Survey asking participants to indicate relative liking for product

profiles

Statistical models to estimate relative importance of features


Experimental Design

For each product category, we have 3 treatment conditions:Umbrella brand + advertisement (e.g., Autodesk Civil 3D

+ Print Ad.)

Umbrella brand (e.g., Autodesk Civil 3D)

Product brand (Civil 3D)

The print ad allows us to estimate the potential ROI of advertising in brand equity enhancement


Print Ad Example: Civil 3D


Conjoint Dial

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Bentley MicroStation (Base)

AutodeskRevit

Base product: For example, in Revit category, we choose the Base product to be Bentley Microstation, priced at $4,695, has low compatibility, low ease of use, low usability, and low technical support. The needle is at 2.24.

Incremental feature: For example, Brand moves from Bentley Microstation to Autodesk Revit. The needle stops at 2.87 (an increment of 0.63)


Lesson 1: Autodesk has a superior brand power

2

4

6

2

4

6


Bentley InRoads(Base)

2

4

6

ArchiCAD

AutodeskRevit

ProEngineer

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Civil 3D

Bentley GeoPAK

SolidWorks(Base)


Lesson 2: Adopt the umbrella branding strategy

2

4

6

2

4

6



2

4

6

Revit

AutodeskRevit

SolidWorks(Base)

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Civil 3D

Civil 3D

Inventor


Lesson 3: Print ad can enhance brand equity

2

4

6

2

4

6



2

4

6

Autodesk Revit W/O Print Ad

AutodeskRevit withPrint Ad

SolidWorks(Base)Autodesk

Inventor with Print Ad Autodesk

Civil 3D with Print AD

Autodek Civil 3D W/O Print Ad

AutodeskInventorW/O PrintAd

Only prospects’ data are considered in Inventor’s dial because there are a few valid customers’ data.


Lesson 4: Key customers features

2

4

6

2

4Bentley MicroStation (Base)


2

4

6

Ease of Use24/7Technical Support

SolidWorks(Base) 24/7 Technical

support

Ease of Use

Compatibility

Price ($1000 less)

Autodesk Revit BrandCompatibility

6

Ease of Use

Price ($1000 less)

Price

Autodesk Civil 3D Brand

Compatibility


Lesson 5: Autodesk’s brand premium

2

4

62

4

6

Bentley MicroStation at $3,695

Autodesk Revit at $4,695 Bentley

InRoads at $4,595

Autodesk Civil 3D at $5,595


Brand Value Function

BentleyMicrostation

Autodesk Revit

X

X

$1,000


Lesson 6: Return of Print Ad

2

4

6

Autodesk Civil 3D without Print Ad at $4,595

Autodesk Civil 3D with Print Ad at $5,595

2

4

6

Autodesk Revit without Print Ad at $3,695

Autodesk Revit with Print Ad at $4,695


Lesson 6: Return of Print Ad

2

4

6

Autodesk Civil 3D without Print Ad at $4,595

Autodesk Civil 3D with Print Ad at $5,595

2

4

6

Autodesk Revit without Print Ad at $3,695

Autodesk Revit with Print Ad at $4,695


Brand Equity Response Function

Without Print AdAutodesk Revit(No Investment)

With Print AdAutodesk Revit(Investment)

X

X$3,695

$4,695

$1,000

ROI = Number of Customers x $1,000 / Investment I

I


Lesson 7a: Customers vs. Prospects (Autodesk Revit)

2

4

62

4

6


Autodesk Revit

Autodesk Revit


Customers Prospects


Lesson 7b: Customers vs. Prospects (Autodesk Inventor)

2

4

62

4

6

SolidWorks(Base)

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor

SolidWorks (Base)

Customers Prospects


Lesson 7c: Customers vs. Prospects (Autodesk Civil 3D)

2

4

62

4

6


Autodesk Civil 3D

Autodesk Civil 3D

Customers Prospects



Key Takeaways

Autodesk has a superior brand power

Adopt the umbrella branding strategy (definitely use Autodesk brand in Revit, Inventor, and Civil 3D)

The value of branding investment (e.g., print ad) can be significant

Ease of use and compatibility are the most important and functionality is the least important feature

Autodesk has a higher brand equity among customers than prospects

The Conjoint methodology works


Next Steps

Having demonstrated “proof of concept”:

Modify stimuli (e.g., more price points) and tighter data collection process to reduce noise and improve predictive power

Apply methodology to a broader set of key brands

Identify preference differences between customers and prospects and by segments

Evaluate marketing campaigns before launch

Documents

September 2005Rashi Glazer and Teck Ho1 Brand Equity Assessment Study September 2 nd 2005