Today every company uses digital channels to connect and engage with customers and prospects. Nearly 30% of the Marketing budget is allocated to online/digital channels. As much as 50% of these dollars are for brand related efforts. Therefore it’s vital to have metrics to evaluate the investments for brand preference. Brand metrics are different from programs designed for sales now.

In this digital age, measuring various aspects of Marketing campaigns in real time is the easy part of the equation. There is of data available and it is easily accessible. It is extremely easy to fall into the trap of choosing and monitoring measures tied to campaign activity (open rate, click thru rate, page views, and so on) for branding. We wouldn’t recommend these types of activity measures for campaigns and we strongly believe these are the wrong types of metrics for measuring your branding.

The key is to find the right mix of meaningful brand measures and metrics that will tie the investment your branding initiatives to both short term and long term brand value (the premium that accrues to your brand when customers are willing to pay extra for it).

While click-thru, page views, and content downloads may be appropriate for measuring the effectiveness of your direct response efforts, this is isn’t a viable way to measure your brand oriented efforts.

3 Measures for Measuring Your Brand

Brand lift, brand engagement, and brand preference are more appropriate ways to evaluate your branding efforts – whether online, offline, or ideally a combination of both.

• Brand lift – the degree of positive shift in customer awareness and perception of your brand. It is an attitudinal measure. It cannot be observed through behavior. It can affect predisposition toward your brand. To measure brand lift you need to measure the perception before and after you initiate a brand-oriented initiative. Surveys, ongoing monitoring, and changes in search results can provide some insight into brand lift.
• Brand engagement – the degree of emotional commitment your customer has toward your brand. Brands that achieve engagement are top of mind. Repeat visitors, bounce rate, and time on site can be indicators of the degree of brand engagement. This is where likes and retweets can also come into play. You’ll want to do some analysis to determine the right set of measures for creating your brand engagement metric.
• Brand preference – the degree to which your brand is preferred/chosen over competitive alternatives. This is the most behavior oriented of the measures. Brand preference is the ultimate goal of brand oriented initiatives and the most meaningful brand metric. Brand preference impact both short-term and long-term success of your brand. When you achieve brand preference repeat purchase, new product adoption rates, and your customer referral right all rise.

We’d recommend using a combination of these to measure your brand’s efforts whether online or offline. Let’s talk about which measures and metrics would be best for you.

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)

Q1: Why does brand measurement matter in digital marketing?
A: Nearly 30% of Marketing budgets go to digital channels, with ~50% allocated to brand efforts. Without proper brand metrics, you can’t evaluate ROI on these significant investments.

Q2: What is the trap many marketers fall into with brand measurement?
A: Monitoring activity metrics (open rates, click-through rates, page views) that are appropriate for direct response—but wrong for measuring brand-building efforts.

Q3: Why are activity metrics insufficient for brand campaigns?
A: Activity metrics don’t measure brand value creation. A high click-through rate doesn’t mean customers perceive your brand differently or prefer it over competitors.

Q4: What should brand metrics tie to?
A: Both short-term and long-term brand value—the premium customers are willing to pay for your brand due to awareness, perception, emotional connection, and preference.

Q5: What are the three appropriate measures for evaluating brand efforts?
A: (1) Brand lift (shift in awareness/perception), (2) brand engagement (emotional commitment), and (3) brand preference (choice over competitors).

Q6: How do you measure brand lift?
A: It’s an attitudinal measure requiring before/after surveys. Ongoing monitoring, changes in search results, and perception tracking provide insight into positive shifts in awareness and perception.

Q7: What indicates brand engagement?
A: Repeat visitors, bounce rate, time on site, likes, retweets, and other indicators of emotional commitment and top-of-mind awareness. Analyze to determine the right engagement metric mix.

Q8: Why is brand preference the most meaningful brand metric?
A: It’s the most behavior-oriented and ultimate goal of brand initiatives. When achieved, repeat purchase, new product adoption, and customer referral rates all rise—driving both short- and long-term success.

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