New York, NY, 08.03.2021

GfK Brand Architect launching as a breakthrough in analyzing, realizing brand strength

The pressure on marketers to provide evidence of the value brands deliver to a business is intense. Today’s consumers seek something deeper than product features and benefits. When consumers’ decision-making process is rooted in emotion, linked to their beliefs and values - and even the causes they support - traditional brand metrics don’t go far enough in understanding the economics of a brand. GfK Brand Architect is a new framework that bridges the gap between consumer attitudes and actual 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 to understand consideration set, purchase intent and willingness to pay a premium. This new approach addresses many of the client challenges GfK’s brand experts hear regularly: Does my brand building activity deliver results? 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 said: “The challenge that all companies face today is to better understand customers, as they expect brands to know who they are, and to use that knowledge to provide meaningful content and services. Customers 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 says: “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.”