A brand audit provides an analysis of an organization’s brand and its brand management and marketing effectiveness. It assesses a brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It identifies brand growth opportunities including those achieved by brand repositioning and brand extension. The audit should result in recommendations to improve brand equity, brand positioning, and brand management and marketing effectiveness.

The following are typical components of a brand audit:

Strategy review

•    Business plans
•    Marketing plans
•    Brand positioning statement
•    Brand plans
•    Creative (or agency) briefs
•    Media plans

Marketing research review

•    Brand positioning research
•    Brand asset studies
•    Brand equity measurement system (awareness, preference, usage, value, accessibility, relevance, differentiation, vitality, emotional connection, loyalty, associations, personality)
•    Brand extension research
•    Product/service concept testing
•    Logo recall & recognition testing

Communications review

•    Advertising and promotion materials
•    Other brand marketing elements: pricing, packaging, merchandising, distribution, direct marketing, sponsorships, flagship stores, etc.
•    Press kit
•    Press releases
•    Sales collateral materials
•    Internal communications
•    Business cards, letterheads, etc.
•    Website
•    Intranet site
•    Employee training programs
•    Employee orientation
•    Manager training
•    Sales force training

External information source review

•    Competitors’ press releases, advertising and promotion
•    Industry analyst reports
•    Customer comments
•    Business partner comments
•    Marketing vendor interviews

Employee interviews

•    Corporate officer interviews
•    Marketing employee interviews
•    Sales force interviews
•    Customer service employee interviews
•    Front line customer contact interviews
•    General employee interviews

Human resource systems review

•    Organization charts
•    Department mission/vision statements
•    Department objectives
•    Common objectives
•    Recruiting criteria
•    Individual competency dictionary
•    Succession planning criteria
•    Planning and resource allocation systems/processes

Proprietary brand research (performed by the auditing company, if required)

•    Brand asset research
•    Brand equity research
•    Brand positioning research (qualitative and quantitative)

In my next post I'll share more components of a Brand Audit, touching on positioning and brand advertising.

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