Transformation of the corporate brand and positioning.
Strategic brand consulting
We increase the value of your brand and the intangible assets of the company. We treat the brand as a business asset: strengthening its market position, raising the perceived value of the product and turning reputation, expertise and company advantages into business capital.
Discuss a strategic task
30 minutes: a review of your task and a selection of relevant cases
The brand as a business asset
— business-strategy levelWhen the value of the business depends on the value of the brand, managing the brand becomes part of business strategy.
We work with how the brand affects perceived value, price resilience, portfolio architecture, scaling and the value of the company.
For public companies the brand may be one of the factors influencing market capitalisation and shareholder value. For private ones — investment valuation, the terms of raising capital and the value of the business in a transaction.
Strategic brand consulting treats the brand as a business asset and a factor in the value of the company.
Brand premium
— value the market is willing to pay forWhen a brand creates additional value for the market, the company gains the ability to command a price premium above the base value of the product.
- hold a higher price without losing perceived value;
- reduce dependence on discounts and direct price competition;
- increase margins;
- grow the brand's contribution to company profit;
- increase the value of the brand as an intangible asset.
A price premium converts the perceived value of a brand into additional margin, profit and business value.
Perceived value→Price premium→Margin and profit→Business value
For public companies: the greater the brand's ability to generate additional profit and cash flow, the more significant its potential contribution to shareholder value.
Brand health metrics
— what we measure and manageBrand value can only be managed once it becomes measurable.
We work with brand health metrics — indicators that show where the brand creates or loses value and what to act on in order to strengthen demand, price premium and the brand's contribution to the business.
brand awarenessconsiderationpreferencedistinctivenesstrustloyaltywillingness to pay a premiumstability of associations
Brand health metrics→Demand and preference→Price and margin→Business value
Brand health metrics help manage the market factors through which a brand influences demand, price, profit and the value of the business.
When this matters most
— recognisable business situationsThe company has grown, the brand has not kept up
The business, product, scale and market have changed, but positioning and perception of the company remain in the previous reality.
Our experienceCEMENTUM / HOLCIM
Transformation of the corporate brand and its positioning in a changed business and market environment.
The business is forced to compete on price
When the market does not understand the value of the brand, price becomes the main argument and the company grows ever more dependent on discounts and direct price comparison. One of the most common situations in FMCG and other highly competitive categories.
The range grows without a clear architecture
New directions, categories and products start competing with each other, and it becomes harder for the buyer to understand the system of the offer.
Our experienceKARL STORZ
Building the architecture of an umbrella brand and the logic of interaction between product directions.
Our experiencePOMPEA
Architecture of product directions in hosiery and home textiles within a single brand system.
The reputation of the company or founder is not capitalised in the brand
A company may spend years accumulating trust, expertise and reputation, yet this value stays with people and relationships rather than becoming a systemic asset of the brand and the business.
The company enters new segments or launches a new direction
Expansion requires not just a new product, but separate positioning, a clear role within the master brand and adaptation of the brand to a new audience.
Our experienceAlfaStrakhovanie — VHI
Launch and strategic positioning of the voluntary health insurance direction with a focus on state corporations and large business: framing the master brand for a new business task and creating a separate value proposition for the corporate segment.
The business is preparing for investment or a sale
In such a situation the brand becomes not only a market instrument, but part of the perceived value of the business itself.
Our experiencePIT
Work with the brand and its market value while preparing the business for sale to a strategic investor — with the task of increasing the value of the brand as an intangible asset ahead of the subsequent deal with SUN InBev.
Our experienceKrustyashchiy Kartofel / Russian Snack Company
Positioning and development of the brand as an asset increasing the perceived value of the business ahead of a deal with a strategic investor. The company became part of Chips Abp; Chips Group was later acquired by Orkla.
Brand and other intangible assets form a significant share of company value
If brand, reputation, client trust, intellectual property and other intangible assets create a significant part of company value, managing the brand becomes part of managing the value of the business.
Our experienceGRANEL
Brand platform for a development company in a competitive environment.
Our experienceEtalon Group
Corporate brand platform and strategic positioning.
Our experienceHals-Development / IQ-Quarter
Brand platform for a single development project.
What we do
— the scope of strategic workStrategic brand audit
We identify which brand assets already create value, which are underused and where the points of further growth are.
Brand health metrics
We define which metrics measure the current state and dynamics of the brand, and build a system to monitor them.
Positioning and brand DNA
We shape the brand's own meaning and the system on which product, communications and further development can be built.
Building brand equity
We strengthen the brand properties that create awareness, distinctiveness, preference, trust and willingness to pay a premium, and connect their dynamics to commercial results.
Brand architecture and portfolio development
We define how a new direction, category or product fits into the master-brand system: what role it should play, how it relates to the existing offer and where the semantic and product boundaries run.
The goal is to grow the portfolio without internal cannibalisation, competition between your own products or blurred positioning.
Perceived value and premium
We translate the real advantages of the product and the company into value the market can see and pay for.
Capitalising reputation and expertise
We turn accumulated trust, history, expertise and reputational capital into a systemic brand asset.
Preparing for scaling
We define how the brand system should develop when entering new categories and markets, attracting partners, raising investment and other significant business changes.
Brand and business value
— a short self-diagnosticDoes your brand help you:
Increase the perceived value of the product?
A brand helps the market see the difference between products beyond specifications and price.
Hold price and margin?
A brand reduces dependence on discounts and direct price comparison.
Scale the business?
A systematic brand architecture makes it easier to launch new products, directions and enter new markets.
Strengthen investment appeal?
A managed brand increases the value of the company's intangible assets and its appeal to partners and investors.
Increase company value in a transaction?
Brand, reputation and other intangible assets can form a significant part of the perceived and assessed value of a business.
For public companies the brand may be one of the factors influencing market capitalisation and shareholder value.
Experience in strategic tasks
— from corporate level to individual directionsWe work with brands at different levels — from corporate positioning and portfolio architecture to platforms for individual business directions and products.
Brand platform for a development company in a competitive environment.
Corporate brand platform and strategic positioning.
Brand platform for a single development project.
Umbrella brand architecture.
Architecture of product directions within a single brand system.
Creating a new brand and a new direction for entering a new category.
B2B positioning and raising the perceived value of the corporate brand.
Work with brand value ahead of the sale of the business to a strategic investor.
Raising the perceived value of the brand in the context of preparing the business for a deal.
Launch and strategic positioning of the VHI direction for state corporations and large business; adaptation of the master brand to a separate service and the corporate segment.
Outcome
— what the work leads toThe brand becomes not only an instrument of choice and communication, but a manageable factor in the value of the business.
Work with positioning, perceived value, brand equity, health metrics, price premium and architecture connects brand development with the commercial and strategic tasks of the company.
Frequently asked questions
— short and to the pointHow does strategic brand consulting differ from brand strategy?
Brand strategy defines what the brand should be and how it should be perceived. Strategic brand consulting takes a wider view — the brand as a business asset connected to commercial indicators and the value of the company.
What is brand equity?
The accumulated value of a brand, expressed in awareness, preference, trust, distinctiveness, loyalty and the market's willingness to pay a premium.
What is a brand premium?
The additional value the market is willing to pay thanks to the perceived value of a particular brand, above the base value of a comparable product or offer.
What are brand health metrics?
A system of indicators reflecting the brand's position in the awareness and choice of its audience: awareness, consideration, preference, distinctiveness, trust, loyalty, willingness to pay a premium and other business-relevant metrics.
How does a brand affect business value?
Through the ability to create preference, sustain price and demand, generate additional margin and profit, ease scaling and increase the value of the company's intangible assets.
Which companies is this service most relevant for?
Companies in growth or transformation, entering new markets, restructuring a product portfolio, raising investment, preparing for partnerships or deals, and businesses where the brand is a significant intangible asset.
Can the value of a brand be measured in money?
Yes, professional methods of financial brand valuation exist — the valuation itself requires separate specialised work. Within strategic brand consulting we work primarily with the factors that create and increase the economic value of the brand.