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)
Email us for more about how The Blake Project’s brand audit can benefit your organization.
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
3 comments
Farith
December 3, 2007 at 10:29 am
Can a Brand audit be a review on the competitors brand position, strengths, weaknesses and gaps, in a pre entry analysis of a market?
I am asking this question because my company is entering in a new market and we are looking at how our competitor’s brand is position in the potential market. Other areas of brand audit has already been done in the overall Brand audit of our brand.
Thanks very much.
Brad VanAuken
December 4, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Hi Farith,
Typically, when one enters a new market, especially a new geographic market, one should perform an attitude and usage study to understand the dimensions of the market.
Having said that, yes, competitive branding analysis can be conducted in a market prior to entering that market using a methodology such as our proprietary BrandInsistence (SM) brand equity measurement system. (At the risk of sounding too promotional)The analysis would focus on product/service concept need and gap, competitors’ current positions, strengths and weaknesses, dissatisfactions with current competitors, most advantageous positioning opportunities, etc.
I’m happy to share more on this if you like.
Brad
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