Continuing in our brand series, in this iteration, we will explore how brand centricity can amplify brand value and help companies stay competitive amidst ever-shifting consumer preferences and a quickly-evolving playing field.
Beth Clayden is Senior Director, Brand Planning at STRAT7 Rainmakers. Previously Director of Brand Strategy at Interbrand, Director of Planning at Publicis UK and Head of Research at Carlton TV/ITV, Beth knows how to get to grips with brand value and show clients how to best leverage this asset to drive commercial growth.
Businesses invest in brands for a reason – whether selling chocolates or energy, it’s a short cut. Provided the brand is expressed well, it quickly tells customers why they might want what you have to sell, helping differentiate you from the competition at the same time. That short cut can both make and save money for any business.
But brands are a human construct. Created by humans to signify a product or service. Then interpreted by humans – though not always in the way the ‘creator’ had in mind. Managing brands well is the route to unlocking their potential.
Think of a conductor, keeping an orchestra or a choir in time and together – that’s the obvious bit. The truth is the conductor serves as a messenger for the composer. It is their responsibility to understand the music and convey it through gesture so transparently that the musicians in the orchestra communicate a unified vision.
Now, let’s translate this to brand management. How a brand is expressed needs to be clear, consistent and true to its original essence for consumers to ‘hear’ the pure, unobstructed sound the brand creator intended.
Investing in a brand pays because it streamlines what a business needs to do. A simple ‘brand centricity’ exercise shows how value pays off for businesses that put brand at the heart of what they do.
Examining the annual reports of some well-known businesses shows a strong connection between those who talk more about brand and how they are valued – both by consumers and the investment community.
Even in the typically brand-centric fashion retail world, the benefit of greater brand focus shines through.
*Sources
We all know a strong brand has potential to drive commercial growth, or in tougher times, to stem losses.
But business tends to talk about brand and commercial assets as separate ideas. When, in fact, the brand can and should be a central driver of commercial growth, like your salesforce or a new retail outlet.
“Though not formally recognized in GDP reports, economists find that the value of intangibles is higher than tangibles in most developed economies.”
(International Organisation for Standardization)
So, how many companies treat their brand as a tangible asset and evaluate the ROI in that investment?
Very few it seems. This is most likely because valuing intangible assets is a challenge for conventional accounting standards. There is a need to bridge this gap, making brand value a focus for the finance team as much as it is for the marketing department – treating the brand as central to the business’s value creation process.
