The Brand Report Card by Kevin Lane Keller Reprint r00104 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2000 Reprint Number MICHAEL MACCOBY Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons R00105 C.K. PRAHALAD AND Co-opting Customer Competence R00108 VENKATRAM RAMASWAMY KATHLEEN M. EISENHARDT AND Coevolving: At Last, a Way to Make Synergies Work R00103 D. CHARLES GALUNIC PETER CAPPELLI A Market-Driven Approach to Retaining Talent R00101 SUZY WETLAUFER Common Sense and Conflict: R00111 An Interview with Disney’s Michael Eisner DEBRA E. MEYERSON AND A Modest Manifesto for Shattering the Glass Ceiling R00107 JOYCE K. FLETCHER ETIENNE C.WENGER AND WILLIAM M. SNYDER Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier R00110 FORETHOUGHT JERRY STERNIN AND ROBERT CHOO The Power of Positive Deviancy F00101 ANS KOLK Green Reporting F00102 A CONVERSATION WITH KATHLEEN VALLEY The Electronic Negotiator F00103 HERMANN SIMON AND MAX OTTE The New Atlantic Century F00104 DICK GROTE Performance Appraisal Reappraised F00105 JOHN PHILIP JONES The Mismanagement of Advertising F00106 REGINA FAZIO MARUCA AND HBR CASE STUDY JOHN M. MILHAVEN When the Boss Won’t Budge R00106 ADRIAN J. SLYWOTZKY; CLAYTON M. PERSPECTIVES CHRISTENSEN AND RICHARD S.TEDLOW; The Future of Commerce R00112 AND NICHOLAS G. CARR KEVIN G. RIVETTE AND THINKING ABOUT... DAVID KLINE Discovering New Value in Intellectual Property R00109 KEVIN LANE KELLER MANAGER’S TOOL KIT The Brand Report Card R00104 J. BRADFORD DELONG AND BOOK IN REVIEW A. MICHAEL FROOMKIN Beating Microsoft at Its Own Game R00102 MANAGER’S TOOL KIT The world’s strongest brands share ten attributes. How does your brand measure up? by Kevin Lane Keller uilding and properly managing brand equity has become a priority for companies of all sizes, B in all types of industries, in all types of markets. After all, from strong brand equity flow customer loy- alty and profits. The rewards of having a strong brand are clear. The problem is, few managers are able to step back and assess their brand’s particular strengths and weaknesses objectively. Most have a good sense of one or two areas in which their brand may excel or may need help. But if pressed, many (understandably) would find it difficult even to identify all of the fac- tors they should be considering. When you’re im- mersed in the day-to-day management of a brand, it’s not easy to keep in perspective all the parts that affect the whole. In this article, I’ll identify the ten characteristics that the world’s strongest brands share and construct a brand report card –a systematic way for managers to think about how to grade their brand’s performance for each of those characteristics. The report card can help you identify areas that need improvement, recog- nize areas in which your brand is strong, and learn Copyright © 1999 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. 3 MANAGER’S TOOL KIT • The Brand Report Card more about how your particular duce, something to be bagged and brand is configured. Constructing sent home with the groceries. We similar report cards for your com- stayed one big step away from the petitors can give you a clearer picture heart and soul of what coffee has of their strengths and weaknesses. meant throughout centuries.” One caveat: Identifying weak spots And so Starbucks began to focus Rating for your brand doesn’t necessarily its efforts on building a coffee bar mean identifying areas that need culture, opening coffee houses like more attention. Decisions that might those in Italy. Just as important, the Your Brand seem straightforward – “We haven’t company maintained control over paid much attention to innovation: the coffee from start to finish – from let’s direct more resources toward the selection and procurement of the R&D” – can sometimes prove to be beans to their roasting and blending Rate your brand on a scale serious mistakes if they undermine to their ultimate consumption. The of one to ten (one being another characteristic that custom- extreme vertical integration has paid extremely poor and ten ers value more. off. Starbucks locations thus far have being extremely good) for successfully delivered superior bene- each characteristic below. The Top Ten Traits fits to customers by appealing to all The world’s strongest brands share five senses – through the enticing Then create a bar chart these ten attributes: aroma of the beans, the rich taste of that reflects the scores. Use 1. The brand excels at delivering the coffee, the product displays and the bar chart to generate the benefits customers truly desire. attractive artwork adorning the discussion among all those Why do customers really buy a prod- walls, the contemporary music play- individuals who participate uct? Not because the product is a ing in the background, and even the in the management of collection of attributes but because cozy, clean feel of the tables and your brands. Looking at those attributes, together with the chairs. The company’s startling suc- the results in that manner brand’s image, the service, and many cess is evident: The average Star- other tangible and intangible factors, bucks customer visits a store 18 should help you identify create an attractive whole. In some times a month and spends $3.50 a areas that need improve- cases, the whole isn’t even some- visit. The company’s sales and prof- ment, recognize areas in thing that customers know or can say its have each grown more than 50% which you excel, and learn they want. annually through much of the 1990s. more about how your partic- Consider Starbucks. It’s not just a 2. The brand stays relevant. In ular brand is configured. cup of coffee. In 1983, Starbucks was strong brands, brand equity is tied It can also be helpful to a small Seattle-area coffee retailer. both to the actual quality of the prod- Then while on vacation in Italy, uct or service and to various intangi- create a report card and chart Howard Schultz, now Starbucks ble factors. Those intangibles include for competitors’ brands chairman, was inspired by the ro- “user imagery” (the type of person simply by rating those mance and the sense of community who uses the brand); “usage imagery” brands based on your own he felt in Italian coffee bars and cof- (the type of situations in which the perceptions, both as a com- fee houses. The culture grabbed him, brand is used); the type of personality petitor and as a consumer. and he saw an opportunity. the brand portrays (sincere, exciting, As an outsider, you may “It seemed so obvious,” Schultz competent, rugged); the feeling that says in the 1997 book he wrote with the brand tries to elicit in customers know more about how their Dori Jones Yang, Pour Your Heart (purposeful, warm); and the type of brands are received in the Into It. “Starbucks sold great coffee relationship it seeks to build with its marketplace than they do. beans, but we didn’t serve coffee by customers (committed, casual, sea- Keep that in mind as you the cup. We treated coffee as pro- sonal). Without losing sight of their evaluate your own brand. core strengths, the strongest brands Try to look at it through the Kevin Lane Keller is the E.B. Os- stay on the leading edge in the prod- eyes of consumers’ rather uct arena and tweak their intangi- than through your own born Professor of Marketing at the bles to fit the times. knowledge of budgets, Amos Tuck School of Business at Gillette, for example, pours mil- lions of dollars into R&D to ensure teams, and time spent on Dartmouth College in Hanover, that its razor blades are as technolog- various initiatives. ically advanced as possible, calling New Hampshire. He is the author of attention to major advances through Strategic Brand Management (Pren- subbrands (Trac II, Atra, Sensor, Mach3) and signaling minor im- tice-Hall, 1998). provements with modifiers (Atra 4 harvard business review January–February 2000 The Brand Report Card • MANAGER’S TOOL KIT score The brand excels at delivering the benefits The brand makes use of and coordinates a full customers truly desire. repertoire of marketing activities to build equity. Have you attempted to uncover unmet consumer needs Have you chosen or designed your brand name, logo, and wants? By what methods? Do you focus relentlessly symbol, slogan, packaging, signage, and so forth to on maximizing your customers’ product and service maximize brand awareness? Have you implemented experiences? Do you have a system in place for getting integrated push and pull marketing activities that comments from customers to the people who can effect target both distributors and customers? Are you aware change? of all the marketing activities that involve your brand? Are the people managing each activity aware of one another? Have you capitalized on the unique capabili- The brand stays relevant. ties of each communication option while ensuring that Have you invested in product improvements that the meaning of the brand is consistently represented? provide better value for your customers? Are you in touch with your customers’ tastes? With the current The brand’s managers understand what the market conditions? With new trends as they apply brand means to consumers. to your offering? Are your marketing decisions based Do you know what customers like and don’t like about on your knowledge of the above? a brand? Are you aware of all the core associations people make with your brand, whether intentionally The pricing strategy is based on consumers’ created by your company or not? Have you created perceptions of value. detailed, research-driven portraits of your target Have you optimized price, cost, and quality to meet or customers? Have you outlined customer-driven exceed customers’ expectations? Do you have a system boundaries for brand extensions and guidelines for in place to monitor customers’ perceptions of your marketing programs? brand’s value? Have you estimated how much value your customers believe the brand adds to your product? The brand is given proper support, and that support is sustained over the long run.