How to Conduct a Brand Audit 080715

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


CONTENTS

§  What is a Brand Audit?

§  Helpful Frameworks

§  How to Apply the Frameworks

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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.


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.


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 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.


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


§  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


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:


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.


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!




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?


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


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 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


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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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

[email protected]

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Marketing

How to Conduct a Brand Audit 080715