Executives like to talk about strong brands as platforms for sustained growth. In the management literature, the link between brand equity and shareholder value is well accepted. So, why is the responsibility for brand-building not more actively managed in the executive suite?
In our work across sectors, we see companies often failing to “walk the talk” — unable to grasp the link between brand health and revenue commitment from customers. They treat brand-building superficially, believing that what matters is making brute-force impressions through large advertising campaigns.1 Yet brand health is based on more than image and, through a set of key interrelated measures, can be linked to business performance.
How does the concept of brand health compare to the notion of brand equity?2 Brand equity is linked to shareholder value.3 It is an intangible, long-term measure of a company, which is of little use to executives making investment trade-offs that affect top-line growth. By contrast, brand health is linked to current and future value with consumers and differences in competitive position. It is tangible and vital to managing brands and business performance on a forward-looking basis.
To measure brand health — and, contrary to conventional wisdom, it can be measured — is to obtain a 360-degree view of a brand in its marketplace, a wide-angle view of consumers... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
Subscribe today to read this article, or Buy a PDF.
More Info.
Buy this article. Purchase one or more copies of this article as a PDF.
Subscribe today to read the most recent articles and the current issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.
Already registered or subscribed? Login below.
Current Subscribers: Do you subscribe to MIT Sloan Management Review? Register for online access.
- Register for free access to recent articles and the current issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Subscribe and read articles from the past three years online.
- Premium subscription—access to the entire archive of articles.
