How to Conduct a Brand Analysis?
Sallie Bale • 12th Nov 2022
So, you’re here to find out how to conduct a brand analysis. In this guide, you’ll read about:
- Understanding Brand Analysis
- How Much Does a Brand Analysis Cost?
- Stages of a Brand Analysis
- Brand Analysis Models
- Competitive Brand Analysis
- Our Brand Audit Process
- A Brand Analysis Report Example
- Example: Brand Perception Analysis
In today’s highly competitive world, understanding your brand’s position, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities is crucial. That’s where brand analysis comes in. In this comprehensive guide from our Brand Strategy & Design team, we’ll cover everything you need to know about brand analysis, from what it is and how it differs from a brand audit, to the stages, objectives, and various models available.
We’ll even provide an example of a report for a well-known brand. So, let’s dive in!
What is Brand Analysis?
It is a systematic evaluation of a brand’s current position, performance, and perception within the market. This type of analysis helps marketing professionals to identify areas of improvement, opportunities for growth, and potential risks. By understanding your brand’s strengths and weaknesses (for example using a SWOT), you can make informed decisions to improve brand perception, customer loyalty, and ultimately, business performance.
Brand Analysis vs. Brand Audit
Though some people use them interchangeably, brand analysis and brand audit have slightly different meanings. A brand audit is broader, generally speaking. It’s an in-depth examination of a brand’s overall performance, while brand analysis focuses on specific aspects of a brand’s marketing strategy. Brand audits usually encompass all aspects of a brand, from logo design and packaging to social media presence and customer service quality. On the other hand, an analysis is a more focused assessment, examining how well the brand is performing in the context of its marketing strategy, goals, and objectives.
Read our five step guide to Brand Audits to find out how to conduct your own, or visit our Brand Audit service page to see how we can help you.
How Much Does a Brand Analysis Cost?
Budgeting for a Brand Analysis Project
When embarking on this kind of project project, it’s essential to consider the potential costs involved. These can range from hiring a dedicated team of professionals to conduct the analysis, such as a brand audit agency, to investing in analytical tools and software. Here are some factors to think about that can influence the budget for your project:
- Team size and expertise: Depending on the complexity of the project and the desired level of insight and analysis, you may need to hire professionals with varying levels of expertise in different areas, such as marketing, data analysis, and market research.
- Tools and software: Depending on the scope of your project, you may need to invest in advanced analytical tools and software to streamline your analysis process and provide more accurate results.
- Duration and complexity: The duration and complexity of your project will also affect the overall budget. A comprehensive, in-depth analysis will require more time and resources, while a more targeted assessment may be less costly.
Balancing Costs and Benefits
While conducting a brand analysis can be a significant investment when done properly, it’s essential to weigh the potential benefits against the costs. In the long run, a well-executed analysis can help your business save money by identifying opportunities for improvement, informing better marketing decisions, and avoiding costly mistakes. It’s crucial to ensure that you allocate an appropriate budget for your project to maximise its potential benefits.
Stages of a Brand Analysis
Here we take a deeper look into how to conduct a brand analysis. Whether you’re looking to do your own analysis, or appoint an expert brand agency, here are the stages you’ll want to structure the project around.
Stage 1: Defining Objectives
The first stage in any such analysis process is to establish clear objectives. These objectives will guide the entire project and help you determine the scope of your analysis. Some common objectives include:
- Identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis)
- Understanding the target audience and their needs
- Evaluating the brand’s competitive position
- Assessing the effectiveness of marketing strategies
Stage 2: Data Collection
Once your objectives are defined, the next step is to gather data that will help you address these objectives. This can involve both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Some sources of data include:
- Internal data: Sales figures, customer demographics, and previous marketing campaigns
- External data: Market research, competitor analysis, and industry trends
- Customer feedback: Surveys, focus groups, and social media sentiment analysis
Stage 3: Data Analysis
With the necessary data in hand, it’s time to analyse and interpret the findings. During this stage, you’ll want to:
- Identify patterns and trends in the data
- Compare your brand’s performance to competitors and industry benchmarks
- Evaluate the success of your marketing strategies in relation to your objectives
- Look for areas of improvement and growth opportunities
Stage 4: Reporting and Recommendations
The final stage of the process involves presenting the findings and providing actionable recommendations. These recommendations should be based on the insights gained from the analysis and should align with your project objectives. A well-structured report should include:
- An executive summary
- A detailed overview of the analysis process and methodology
- Key findings and insights
- Recommendations for improvement and growth
- A plan for implementing the recommendations
Brand Analysis Models
There are several models that can help guide your approach to evaluating your brand’s performance. Some popular models include:
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a widely used model for assessing a brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This approach can provide valuable insights into your brand’s internal and external factors that can impact its success.
Brand Equity Model
The brand equity model focuses on measuring the value of a brand based on factors such as brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality, and customer loyalty. This model can help you understand how your brand is perceived in the market and identify areas for improvement.
Brand Resonance Model
The brand resonance model evaluates the strength of the relationship between a brand and its customers. By examining factors such as brand salience, performance, imagery, and customer relationships, this model can help you assess how well your brand is resonating with its target audience.
Competitive Brand Analysis
Competitive brand analysis is a crucial aspect of a comprehensive brand evaluation process. It involves examining your brand’s performance, marketing strategies, and customer perception in comparison to your key competitors. Once you’ve done your own SWOT, you could do a SWOT of your competitors to can identify areas where your brand has a competitive advantage, as well as areas where improvements are needed to stay ahead in the market.
Our Brand Audit Process
We may use these tools and techniques, but we like to keep things simple, and allow ourselves to tailor the process to the challenge at hand. Our Brand Audit process looks something like this:
- Objectives and measurement
- Data gathering
- Analysis of findings
- Recommendations
- Creating a plan
You can read more about our Brand Audit service, and do get in touch if we can help you with your current brand challenge.
Brand Analytics
You might find during your brand analysis that you wish you had more data to work from. Brand analytics is all about gathering, measuring, and making sense of data related to your brand’s performance, customer engagement, and market trends. This valuable information can help you make smarter marketing decisions.
Some key brand analytics you could think about starting to track are:
- Brand awareness: How well your target audience recognises your brand, measured through search volume, social media mentions, and surveys.
- Brand sentiment: What customers think and feel about your brand, gauged by analysing reviews, social media comments, and feedback.
- Customer engagement: How people interact with your brand online, using metrics like website traffic, bounce rate, session duration, and social media activity.
- Conversion rates: The percentage of potential customers completing desired actions, helping you evaluate your marketing campaigns’ effectiveness.
- Customer loyalty and retention: How committed customers are to your brand over time, measured by repeat purchases and churn rates.
Diving into brand analytics you’ll get a deeper understanding of your brand’s performance and make better, data-driven decisions for growth.
A Brand Analysis Report Example
A lot of people find it useful to see an example report. Here’s a what a brand analysis could look like for a small company you may have heard of called Coca-Cola.
Example: A Brand Analysis Report for Coca-Cola
Executive Summary
This report provides an in-depth examination of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy, competitive position, and customer perception. The key findings reveal that Coca-Cola maintains a strong brand presence, high brand awareness, and positive associations. However, the analysis also identifies opportunities for growth and improvement, particularly in the areas of digital marketing and sustainability initiatives.
Methodology
The analysis employed a mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including:
- Analysis of internal sales and marketing data
- Market research on industry trends and competitor performance
- Customer surveys and focus groups to gauge perception and sentiment
Key Findings
Coca-Cola enjoys high brand awareness and strong brand equity, with positive associations related to taste, refreshment, and happiness.
The company’s brand and marketing strategy has been successful in maintaining its position as a market leader in the soft drink industry.
There is room for improvement in Coca-Cola’s digital marketing efforts, as the brand lags behind some competitors in online engagement and presence.
Customers are increasingly concerned about environmental sustainability, and Coca-Cola’s current initiatives may not be sufficient to address these concerns.
Recommendations
Based on the analysis, the following recommendations are proposed:
- Enhance digital marketing efforts by investing in social media campaigns, influencer partnerships, and targeted online advertising.
- Develop and promote new sustainability initiatives to address customer concerns and improve brand perception.
- Continue to innovate and expand the product portfolio to cater to evolving consumer preferences and tastes.
Implementation Plan
To implement the recommendations, Coca-Cola should:
- Allocate additional budget and resources for digital marketing initiatives.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement new sustainability initiatives, such as reducing plastic waste, investing in renewable energy, and promoting recycling.
- Conduct ongoing market research and consumer feedback to inform product development and marketing strategies, ensuring the brand remains relevant and responsive to customer needs.
Example: Brand Perception Analysis
Let’s dive into an example of a brand analysis that focuses solely on a brand’s perception. For this scenario, we’ll take a look at a hypothetical brand EnviroDrink, an eco-friendly beverage company. Firstly, what is brand perception?
Brand perception reflects how consumers view and feel about a company, influencing their attitudes and purchasing behaviour.
Step 1: Identify the Objectives
First things first, we need to define the objectives of this brand perception analysis. In this case, we’re aiming to:
- Understand how consumers perceive EnviroDrink’s eco-friendliness.
- Evaluate how the brand’s packaging and design influence perception.
- Identify any potential gaps in EnviroDrink’s messaging and positioning.
Step 2: Data Collection
To get a clear picture of EnviroDrink’s perception, we’ll gather data from various sources:
- Social media mentions: Analysing comments and hashtags to understand consumer sentiment.
- Online reviews: Exploring consumer feedback on e-commerce websites and review platforms.
- Surveys and focus groups: Collecting direct input from consumers to gauge their thoughts and feelings about the brand.
Step 3: Findings and Insights
After evaluating the data, we can draw some conclusions about EnviroDrink’s brand perception:
- Positive perception of eco-friendliness: Consumers generally view EnviroDrink as an environmentally responsible brand, appreciating its sustainable sourcing and packaging practices.
- Mixed feelings about packaging design: While many consumers like the minimalist design, others feel it lacks personality and doesn’t stand out on store shelves.
- Gaps in messaging: Some consumers aren’t fully aware of the brand’s eco-friendly initiatives, suggesting that EnviroDrink could communicate its sustainability efforts more effectively.
Step 4: Recommendations
Based on these findings, we can make a few recommendations for EnviroDrink to skyrocket its brand perception:
- Enhance messaging around sustainability: Increase awareness of the brand’s eco-friendly initiatives by highlighting them more prominently on packaging, the website, and social media channels.
- Experiment with packaging design: Consider testing alternative designs to make the packaging more visually appealing and memorable, while still maintaining its eco-friendly qualities.
- Leverage consumer testimonials: Share positive feedback from satisfied customers to reinforce the brand’s eco-friendly image and build trust among potential buyers.
In conclusion, by focusing on brand perception, this analysis has provided valuable insights into how consumers view EnviroDrink. The marketing director could readily implement the suggested recommendations and strengthen its position as an eco-friendly leader and further differentiate itself in the market.
Conclusion
So, hopefully you’re fully briefed on what a brand analysis is. You’ve heard about how a brand analysis is a powerful tool for marketing professionals, providing invaluable insights into a brand’s position, performance, and perception. By understanding the different aspects of undertaking an analysis, from the distinction between brand analysis and brand audit to the various stages, objectives, and models available, marketing professionals can make informed decisions to improve their brand’s marketing strategy and drive business growth.
Head over to our brand audit page to see a list of the questions we often get asked on this subject. See if they’re helpful to you!
Do you think you’ll use brand analysis to help your organisation to grow?
