The Beginner's Guide to Brand Equity Research
Brand equity is one of those phrases that gets used a lot and explained very little. Most teams agree that brand equity matters. Fewer can clearly say what it is or how to measure it.
At its simplest, brand equity is what your brand provides to customers beyond the product itself. This guide walks through what that means, how to measure it, and how teams can actually use the results.
What Brand Equity Actually Means
Brand equity is the value your brand adds on top of function.
It is why someone chooses Advil over generic ibuprofen. The ingredients are the same, but there’s a deeper connection with the customer.
Strong brand equity shows up in everyday behavior. People choose a brand more often, pay a little more, give the brand more leeway when something goes wrong, and become the mouths in word-of-mouth marketing.
Those behaviors are what brand equity research measures.
The Core Components
Most studies focus on a small set of core ideas. The names may change, but the structure is usually the same.
Awareness: Do people know your brand exists? This splits into unaided awareness (can they name the brand without prompting?) and aided awareness (do they recognize it when shown the name?).
Consideration: Would they actually consider buying your brand?
Perception: What do people believe about your brand? This includes practical traits like quality and value, along with emotional ones like trust and credibility.
Usage and Loyalty: Are people buying your brand now? Do they come back? Would they choose it again?
Advocacy: Do people recommend your brand? Speak positively about it? Or warn others away?
What a Brand Equity Study Looks Like
A brand equity study surveys people in your target market. That usually includes both current customers and people who could realistically choose your brand.
The survey follows a simple flow - awareness, usage, consideration, advocacy, then perceptions. The same questions are asked about your brand and key competitors.
Comparison to the competition gives the data meaning. A single number in isolation does not tell you much. Seeing how your brand stacks up against others does.
Many companies run these studies at a regular cadence. Annual or quarterly studies help track change over time, understand whether marketing is working, and identify challenges early.
What You Can Do With the Results
Identify gaps: Where do competitors outperform you on key attributes? Where do you have advantages worth emphasizing?
Guide positioning: What associations are unique to your brand that you can own in the market?
Measure marketing effectiveness: Did a campaign actually move perceptions, or just generate impressions?
Support pricing decisions: Strong brand equity often supports premium pricing. Weak brand equity means you're competing on price.
Prioritize investments: Should you focus on building awareness or improving perceptions among people who already know your brand?
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Measuring too many attributes: A 50-attribute image battery creates survey fatigue and dilutes your focus. Stick to 12-15 attributes that actually matter for your category.
Ignoring the competition: Your brand doesn't exist in a vacuum. Always measure key competitors to provide context.
Surveying only your customers: Your customers already like you, otherwise they wouldn’t be customers. You also need to understand perceptions among non-customers.
Getting Started
You do not need a massive study to get value from brand equity research. A focused survey covering the basics can be run quickly and still provide clear direction. For more detail, see our Best Practices for Brand Equity Research.
The most important step is knowing what you want to learn. What decisions should this research support? Brand equity research gives you a clearer view of how your brand is working for you today and where it needs help for tomorrow.
