Brand equity, which is the intangible assets that a brand has, is important metric that drive brand’s success. The brand equity consists of many elements such as brand awareness and association. In order for a brand to measure those metrics, they employ comparative methods that compares their brand to one or more competitors. In this article, I will talk about what insights can be learned through measuring brand equity through comparative methods that can help your business in the competitive marketplace.
Brand Awareness: This element represents how a brand is being recognized and recalled in comparison to competitors. Taking the example of Kleenex and Puffs napkins, when consumers are prompted to recall a napkin brand, Kleenex typically emerges as the immediate choice. Additionally, brand recognition occurs when consumers, presented with an array of napkin options, immediately identify Kleenex among various brands. The higher the brand awareness, the better competitive advantages for your brand, as consumers will be likely to purchase your product over competitors. However, low rate of brand awareness can help a brand to gain insights about why competitors are being memorable and how to strategize marketing efforts accordingly.
Association: This element represents how consumers perceive a brand and what attributes they associate to that brand. For instance, Mercedes Benz is commonly associated with luxurious and elegant attributes, while Renault is associated with its safety attributes. This can help a brand to focus its marketing efforts to their associated attributes that they are known for rather than promoting attributes for which it is less well-known.