London, 08.03.2021

GfK's new Brand Architect a breakthrough in realizing brand strength

Marketers face intense pressure to provide solid evidence of the value that brands deliver to a business. But traditional brand metrics no longer understand the entire economics of a brand, because consumers today are seeking something deeper than product features and benefits. Their decision-making process is rooted in emotion, linked to their beliefs and values, and even the causes they support. 

GfK Brand Architect is a new framework that bridges the gap between consumer attitudes and actual buying behavior to measure brand strength.  

Next-generation brand measurement  

GfK Brand Architect measures brand strength using an innovative technique to replicate how consumers choose brands in real life. Consumers are observed in multiple, realistic brand buying scenarios, in order to understand their consideration set, purchase intent and willingness to pay a premium for one product over another.  

This new approach addresses many of the challenges that clients have turned to GfK’s brand experts for help with: What results are my brand building activities delivering? Will consumers buy my brand? What influences their purchase decision? Can I charge a premium for my brand? How can I choose the right messaging and touchpoints for my brand? 

It’s essential for brands to create experiences that drive attachment, awareness, and lifetime value. 

Gonzalo Garcia Villanueva, Global CMO at GfK says, “CMOs must question whether their products and communications are generating a brand premium and what is the optimal amount they should spend on brand-building. Only then will they truly understand the economics of their brand and prove return on investment.”  

The Brand Strength Index  

GfK Brand Architect covers all dimensions of brand performance, combined in one simple KPI, the Brand Strength Index.

The higher the score on the Brand Strength Index, the more customers a brand can attract and the higher the price premium it can charge. Crucially, the measure has a stronger correlation to market share, compared to traditional metrics. 

Graciela Bastida, CRM Manager at Nespresso México states, “The challenge that all companies face today is to better understand their customers. Customers expect brands to know who they are, and to use that knowledge to provide meaningful content and services. They expect each brand interaction to be a memorable experience, so it is very important to provide valuable content that allows them to co-create. They also want all things to be quick and easy.  

"Consumers are constantly exposed to brand messaging and other stimuli and so their purchase decision represents the combination of both emotional and rational aspects. Therefore, it is essential to understand all the factors that make a consumer prefer one brand over another.

"GfK’s new brand framework helped us do exactly this. Using the approach, we understood better how purchase decisions were made, and in particular how and why consumers switch between brands. GfK Brand Architect gave us new insights and it helped us develop more personalized experiences that better engaged with our customers, and ultimately, help create their lifetime value for Nespresso.” 

GfK Brand Architect has been specifically designed to complement existing brand trackers, with additional, more sophisticated metrics that raise it to the next level. For instance, the technique provides strategic guidance on growing volume and charging a premium.   

Madalina Carstea, Brand & Marketing Intelligence at GfK comments, “Building brand strength is the goal of every brand owner or marketer and takes intensive planning, measurement and analysis. Through working closely with our clients, we realized that many weren’t able to unleash their brand's full potential in today’s complex business environment. 

"GfK Brand Architect has been designed to deliver a whole new level of insight to help our clients build brands that are irresistible to consumers. ​We think of it as combining the art and science of brand measurement. The real beauty of the approach is simplicity. We’ve condensed a wide range of metrics into one single score, so brands can set a clear vision, track their progress and evaluate their performance.” 

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GfK. Growth from Knowledge. 

For over 85 years, we have earned the trust of our clients around the world by solving critical business questions in their decision-making process around consumers, markets, brands and media. Our reliable data and insights, together with advanced AI capabilities, have revolutionized access to real-time actionable recommendations that drive marketing, sales and organizational effectiveness of our clients and partners. That’s how we promise and deliver “Growth from Knowledge”. 



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