Brand Audits

A Brand Audit is the process of plotting a brand against a series of criteria to understand how it is positioned in the market & against its competitors.

Brand tracking studies, where brands are evaluated in terms of awareness, consideration, purchase & loyalty are a pragmatic first step in seeing where a brand sits against its competitive set. Additionally, brands are evaluated qualitatively to understand consumers’ attitudes & behaviours, as well as their legacy.

By using the context gained with previous analysis, the brand can be effectively scored & analysed, generating a list of strengths (what the brand is best at, particularly in relation to competitors), weaknesses (what the brand is not as good at), opportunities (what the market is opening up for the brand for which the brand is particularly well suited for) & threats (what the market is developing for which the brand is most vulnerable to).

For Example

Fable&Co. will now show the steps that we take in this process by taking an example consumer trend & seeing how it would affect a brand audit.

A company that sells nuts and enjoys a strong brand in the market known for quality & healthy eating conducts market research. From this it is discovered that the nut milk business has been growing 2x in the last 3 years & will be estimated at £2bn in the UK alone.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis with the methodology that Fable&Co. follows has been exemplified on the right:

  • Strengths – strong brand (75% unprompted awareness) associate with nuts & dried fruits.

 

  • Weaknesses – consumers think it is somewhat expensive.

 

  • Opportunities – growing nut milk business offers an encouraging opportunity for expansion.

 

  • Threats – established dairy companies are also entering the market, adding to the current players, making competition particularly fierce.

 

As the company brand is the largest & most imperative asset of any company, a brand audit will not only build brand equity in the target market but exponentially aid business.

Brand is the promise, the big idea, the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service or company. Branding is about making an emotional connection.

– Alina Wheeler, Brand Identity Author