The Power of Brands in Tough Times

Companies of any size can develop a brand to sustain business performance during tough times, according to Laurie Young, a Trustee of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in the UK and marketing partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Brand management is a powerful performance driver as consumer confidence continues to fall. As businesses of all sizes struggle to make money in today's tough economic climate, marketers need to work their brands harder to maintain business results during the downturn. Customers need a stronger reason to purchase, and reassurance with their choice. In times like this, a brand is a key asset for performance.

Modern methods of valuation and economic modeling enable businesses to make hard and fast connections between brand investment and company results. It is now even easier to identify the return on investment of the brand - one of the company's most important drivers of business results. Modern valuation techniques make it possible to estimate the likely success of different brand strategies and to estimate future brand value as a result.

'Brands give customers an anchor, something to hang onto in turbulent times,' says Peter Fisk, Chief Executive Officer of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. 'Brands sustain loyalty when customers are more inclined to shop around, and they sustain a price premium when margins are under pressure. This sustains short-term performance, and long-term shareholder returns. The brand has been shown in difficult conditions to produce real value over time, guarding against the ravages of the market. In order to thrive, companies of all sizes need to take a hardheaded look at the value of their brand and how it is nurtured and managed'

'Companies have ignored, to their detriment, the precious role that brands can play in the life of both companies and customers. It is therefore possible that British industry might miss a very powerful, proven source of profit,' added Laurie

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.