Lab42 helps brands and agencies understand how well a brand is known, considered, used, and perceived compared with its competitors.
Our brand equity studies are full service. We handle the research design, questionnaire, programming, respondent recruitment, data quality, analysis, and reporting.
Standard brand equity studies start at $7,500 and are typically completed in about 14 days.
Brand Equity Research & Brand Tracking
Brand Equity Research at a Glance
| What it measures | Awareness, consideration, usage, perceptions, loyalty, advocacy, and competitive position |
|---|---|
| Who we survey | Current customers, potential customers, category buyers, or another defined target audience |
| Competitive context | Your brand is measured against the competitors that matter in your category |
| Typical sample | Often 200 to 500 respondents per audience or analysis group |
| Timing | About 14 days for a standard study |
| Pricing | Starting at ~$7,500 |
| Deliverables | Survey design, programming, fielding, standard results included. Crosstabs, analysis, reporting extra based on scope. |
What is Brand Equity Research?
Brand equity research measures the value a brand holds beyond the product or service itself.
That value comes from how familiar people are with the brand, what they associate with it, whether they trust it, and whether they choose it over other options.
A brand can have high awareness but weak equity. People may know the name without viewing the brand positively or considering it for a future purchase. Brand equity research looks beyond recognition to understand the full relationship between consumers and the brand.
What Questions can a Brand Equity Study Answer?
A brand equity study can help you understand:
How many people know your brand without being prompted
How many recognize your brand when shown its name
Whether people would consider buying from your brand
How your brand is perceived compared with competitors
Which attributes your brand can credibly own
Where consumers drop out of the awareness-to-purchase funnel
How likely customers are to return or recommend the brand
Whether marketing has changed awareness or perceptions
Which audiences have the strongest relationship with your brand
Where your brand has an advantage or needs improvement
What We Measure
Brand equity is the value your brand adds beyond the product itself. We measure it across the components that drive it:
| What we measure | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand Awareness | We measure both unaided and aided awareness. Unaided awareness shows which brands come to mind naturally when people think about your category. Aided awareness shows which brands people recognize when presented with a list. Together, these measures show how visible your brand is within the market. |
| Consideration and Usage | Awareness alone does not tell you whether someone would buy. We measure whether consumers have considered, tried, purchased, or regularly used your brand. This creates a brand funnel that shows where people are moving forward and where they are dropping out. |
| Brand Perceptions | Consumers rate your brand and its competitors on the attributes that matter within your category. These may include quality, value, trust, innovation, convenience, customer service, relevance, reliability, or other category-specific characteristics. The results show which qualities are strongly associated with your brand and where competitors perform better. |
| Loyalty and Advocacy | We measure whether customers intend to choose the brand again, how satisfied they are, and whether they would recommend it to others. These questions help separate occasional buyers from customers who have a stronger relationship with the brand. |
| Marketing and Communication Awareness | A study can also measure whether consumers have recently seen your advertising or other brand communications. This helps connect marketing activity with changes in awareness, consideration, and perception. |
| Custom Research Modules | Every brand and category is different. Custom sections can be added to address topics such as brand personality, positioning, consumer journey, purchase barriers, switching behavior, pricing perceptions, customer needs, and campaign effectiveness. |
How Lab42 Conducts a Brand Equity Study
1. Define the Decisions the Research Needs to Support
We begin by understanding what you need to decide. You may be preparing a new brand strategy, evaluating a campaign, reviewing a rebrand, planning next year’s marketing budget, or trying to understand why sales performance differs across audiences.
2. Build the Research Plan
We recommend the target audience, competitors, sample size, survey modules, and analysis plan. The study is built around your objectives rather than a fixed research package.
3. Design and Field the Study
Lab42 writes and programs the questionnaire, recruits qualified respondents, and manages the survey while it is in the field.
Automated safeguards and daily human review are used to identify poor-quality responses. Respondents who fail the quality checks are removed and replaced.
4. Analyze the Results
We compare your brand with competitors and review differences across the audiences that matter to you. The analysis focuses on what the numbers mean for your business, not simply which scores are highest or lowest.
5. Deliver the Findings
Deliverables are based on how your team plans to use the research. Options include aggregate charts, crosstabs, dashboards, topline reports, full reports, and presentation support.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a brand equity study cost?
Lab42 brand equity studies typically start around $7,500 for a standard project without additional reporting. Final pricing depends on the audience, sample size, number of competitors, survey length, analysis, and reporting requirements.
How long does a brand equity study take?
A standard project is typically completed in about 14 days. More complex studies or projects involving difficult-to-reach audiences may require additional time.
How many respondents do you need?
Many brand studies use 200 to 500 respondents per audience or analysis group. The appropriate sample depends on the size of the audience and how many subgroups you need to compare.
Which competitors should be included?
Most studies include the brands consumers are most likely to consider alongside yours. We can help determine the appropriate competitive set during research planning.
Should we survey only our customers?
Usually not. Current customers provide an important perspective, but surveying only customers can make brand performance look stronger than it is. Most studies also include potential customers or category buyers who do not currently use your brand.
How many brand attributes should we measure?
A focused list of approximately 12 to 15 meaningful attributes is often more useful than a very long list. The attributes should reflect the factors people use to evaluate brands in your category.
Can the study be repeated?
Yes. The first study can establish a baseline and then be repeated annually, twice a year, quarterly, or around major marketing activity.
Understand Where Your Brand Stands
A brand equity study gives you an outside view of your brand, your competitors, and the audiences you want to reach.
Tell us what you are trying to understand. We will recommend a research approach based on your decisions, audience, timeline, and budget.