The Power of Brand Properties

September 2014
BRANDGYM
RESEARCH PAPER 8
By David Taylor
Managing Partner
The Power of
Brand Properties
www.thebrandgym.com
The Power of
Brand Properties
About the research
In this, our 8th global survey, we looked at ‘The Power of Brand Properties’. We wanted to
better understand how important distinctive brand properties are and some of the challenges
in creating, measuring and managing them.
The brandgym partners
The first part of the research was a survey of 80
senior marketing professionals across Europe,
Africa, Asia, the USA and Latin America, covering
a range of different sectors. The second part of
the research was a study of brand properties
in the ice cream market in partnership with
decode marketing. This illustrates a special
‘implicit’ research method that identifies the
strongest brand properties, those that have
created distinctive ‘memory structure’.
Introduction
We are strong believers in the power of
distinctive brand properties in helping brands
grow, as covered in our latest book, ‘Grow
the Core’. These brand properties cover
communication (slogans, characters etc.),
identity (colour, logos etc.) and activation
(sponsorship, promotions etc.).
In this paper we look at the following areas:
We wanted to evaluate marketing directors’
real-life experience with brand properties, to
understand how important a driver of growth
they are, and to explore how brand properties
are measured and managed.
• Brand Property Measurement: a real-life
study on ice cream to illustrate how to
measure brand properties. For example,
which of the properties below are strongest
for Magnum*?
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• The Power of Properties: how important are
brand properties in growing the core?
• Property Management: how effectively are
brand properties measured and managed?
* Answers later on!
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Part 1: The power
of properties
The key role played by brand properties in growing brands and businesses is confirmed by the
marketing directors in our survey. A whopping 83% say brand properties are extremely important
in creating strong brands, with the remaining 17% saying they were important. Why did our
respondents think distinctive brand properties were so important?
First, if properties are distinctively linked to the brand they become ‘iconic assets’ that can help
create standout in a cluttered environment. As one respondent comments, ‘Consumers are being
bombarded across many different media channels and brand properties help them recognize the
brand with less effort’. Second, the most powerful properties go beyond recognition to also trigger
brand meaning, as one marketing director observes: ‘A distinctive brand property drives powerful
story-telling, an opportunity to build affiliation and connection.’
17%
Importance of brand properties
Extremely Important
83%
Important
Having established that brand properties are important, which of the many types of property are
most commonly used and which are under utilised? See below for the different types of brand
properties we explored. In addition, how long have properties been used for, given that memory
structure takes an estimated two to three years to create?
Product/Service
Identity
Colour
Activation
Symbol
Shape
Communication
Sonic
Celebrity
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Character
Slogan
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Part 1: The power
of properties
Usage of properties
Consistency of properties
In terms of types of brand property, logos
(95%) and colours (85%) are the most
commonly used, being essential to a brand’s
identity. Slogans are also used by the majority
of companies.
In terms of consistency, properties related
to brand identity (colour, logo, shape) score
best, with 85%+ used for at least 3 years, the
estimated time needed for memory structure
creation. There is less consistency in slogans
and product RTBs, with only ²⁄³ used for 3 years+
(a number which seems high, based on real-life
project experience!) and activation.
Consistency: % using for 3 years or more
But there is an opportunity to make use of a
broader set of properties (see below). Less than
half use distinctive shapes, such as Coke’s iconic
bottle, or product ‘reasons to believe’ (RTB)
such as Dove’s ¼ moisturising cream. Finally,
‘sonic branding’ (jingles, music etc.), are used
by a mere 18% of brands.
The advantage of characters (e.g. Captain Bird’s
Eye/Iglo, Betty Crocker) over celebrities is shown
by 90% of these lasting 3 years+, compared to
only 25% of celebrities. The latter may go out
of fashion or do something stupid and/or illegal!
(think Luis Suarez, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong).
100%
Shape
Character
66%
Colour
Product R.T.B
Sonic
Logo
Slogan
Activation
Celebrity
Identity
Comms/Activation
33%
Product
0%
33%
66%
100%
Usage: % using this type of property
Action point: there are opportunities for brands to use of a broader range of
properties, especially sonic branding. Also, brands need to be more consistent
in their use of brand properties to create memory structure.
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www.thebrandgym.com
Part 2: Property
Management
Measurement
100%
Most companies have agreed which key
brand properties to build (even if earlier
results show that the range of properties
used is limited). However, almost half lack
proper quantitative tracking data to measure
the recall and meaning of these properties
(in our experience, it is much less than
half). Measurement of brand properties still
over-relies on qualitative research (68%).
Qualitative research, and most quantitative
research, focuses on rational consumer
feedback, whereas brand properties work at
an ‘implicit’ level; they help us recognize and
recall brands without rational thinking.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
83%
40%
30%
68%
54%
20%
10%
0%
Agreed set of key
properties to build
Qual research
on properties
Quant tracking
of properties
Changing properties
Over half of marketers surveyed say the main reason for changing brand properties is organisational
change, especially changes of marketing director. This premature property changing prevents
memory structure being created. One respondent went as far as saying ‘Many managers destroy
valuable brand properties for their own career benefits. ’A further 20% of people say change is a
judgement call, with a mere 24% saying that a change in brand property is a strategic choice based
on quantitative data. This suggests that even amongst the companies above who have quantitative
data (54%), only half are using it properly!
Main reason for
changing brand
properties
Organisation change
20%
Strategy using data
24%
55%
Strategy based on
judgement
Action point: most companies need a better process for measuring and managing
brand properties. This requires putting in place a well designed quantitative tracking
survey and then ensuring that this is used when making any decisions.
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Part 3: Brand
Property Measurement
We ran an ‘Iconic Asset Tracker’ (IcAT) study, in partnership with decode marketing consultancy,
to show how to effectively measure brand properties. The study covered ice cream, beer and
cosmetics amongst a representative panel of 1,000 UK consumers. Highlights for Magnum ice
cream are shown here, with full results from all three categories available on request.
Importantly, the study uses an ‘implicit thinking’ approach, where people react to brand properties
in less than a second. This highlights the iconic assets that are truly embedded in memory structure,
as opposed to those recalled only after having thought about it.
The shape of success
Magnum’s most iconic asset is the product shape, with a 93% ‘activation’ score (prompts recall
of the brand); the brand’s distinctiveness is ‘baked in’ to the product itself. Gold core extension also
have strong activation. In contrast, the brand’s slogan, ‘For pleasure seekers’, is less strong (41%),
with ¹⁄³ of people linking this to Häagen Dazs. Celebrities score much lower, with the most recent
endorser, Benicio del Toro, scoring a lowly 21%.
100%
66%
33%
0%
Celebrity
Slogan
Colour
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Visual
Product
Shape
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Part 3: Brand
Property Measurement
Product as hero
The power of Magnum’s product is shown by results from the brand’s communication visuals.
Many brands could learn from Magnum’s success, as we saw earlier that less than ½ have a
distinctive shape.
Strong product link
Weak product link
87% activation
9% activation
93% activation
61% activation
The left image has a much higher activation
score for Magnum, as the product shape and
‘cracking’ is featured. In contrast, the right
image has a low activation score, with ½ of
people mistaking it for Cornetto.
In this second pair of Magnum images,
stronger product link activates the brand
much better than a generic ‘sensual
indulgence’ image.
Chopping and changing
Results on Magnum’s celebrities show the
risk of changing properties, as highlighted
earlier in the paper. Eva Longoria was
used in 2008, six years ago. However,
she has more than twice the brand
activation than Benicio del Toro, who the
brand switched to in 2010. Del Toro was
actually more linked with Häagen-Dazs,
with a 34% activation score!
2008
2010
51% activation
21% activation
Action point: we recommend putting in place a brand property tracking system,
like the IcAT study shown here. This should use an ‘implicit’ method to tap directly into
memory structure associations.
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Conclusions
Conclusions
The important role played by brand properties in building strong brands is confirmed by this survey.
The survey also has some clear recommendations on how to best measure and manage these valuable
business assets:
•Harness more properties: whilst brand identity properties are used by most companies, there appears
to be an opportunity to use other properties to boost distinctiveness, including activation and especially
sonic properties, such as music and jingles.
•Proper property management: too many changes in brand property are caused by organisational
changes, especially a change of marketing director. This risks changing properties prematurely,
thus destroying valuable memory structure.
•What gets measured gets done: most companies still lack a proper quantitative process for tracking
the recall and meaning of brand properties, to allow better management of these assets. When putting
in place a tracking system, this needs to use ‘implicit’ research, as highlighted in the example in
this paper.
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Brand Leadership Coaching
• The brandgym is a network of 7 senior brand coaches helping companies gain and
retain brand leadership.
• We are leaders in the area of Growing the Core, helping teams focus on their core
business for brand success:
• Creating a clear and compelling brand vision to inspire core business growth.
• Amplifying distinctive brand properties over time through developing ‘turbo charged’
marketing plans.
• Building team energy and alignment through a collaborative, cross-functional process.
• Additional brandgym services include Brand Vision to Action and Brand-led Innovation.
• We have a track record of helping leading companies focus on their core business for
brand success, including SAB Miller, Sainsbury’s, LVMH, Danone and Kraft.
• The brandgym works in partnership with decode marketing on brand asset tracking.
Decode are specialists in using implicit research to identify ‘iconic assets’ that are
strongly and uniquely linked to the brand.
David Taylor (Managing Partner)
M: + 44 (0) 7789 202 564
E: david@thebrandgym.com
Diego Kerner (Latin America)
M: + 54 (9) 11 5 058 5900
E: diego@thebrandgym.com
David Nichols (Managing Partner)
M: +44 (0) 7787 148 806
E: davidn@thebrandgym.com
Silvina Moronta (Latin America)
M: +54 (9) 3436612393
E: silvina@thebrandgym.com
Anne Charbonneau (Benelux /France)
M: +31 611 64 34 07
E: anne@thebrandgym.com
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Prasad Narasimhan (Asia)
M: +91 9901585005
E: prasad@thebrandgym.com
Anna Eggleton (UK/Service brands)
M: + 44 (0) 7500 703 368
E: anna@thebrandgym.com
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