Rediffusion re-launches Brand Asset Valuator in India

In a bid to cure 'Marketer's Insomnia', Rediffusion has re-launched its brandscape study, the Brand Asset Valuator in India.

Almost nine years after its first launch in India, Rediffusion has re-launched its Brand Asset Valuator (or BAV) in the country. The difference, claims the team, is that this time around, it is a more robust effort.

Basically a brandscape study or strategic tool, the BAV has been jointly developed with academic and research authorities. The offering is clearly targeted at brand marketers and marketing companies.

The team has researched more than 1,350 brands in over 100 categories. All these brands have been rated by consumers across 48 image attributes. So this tool has the power to enable brand comparisons that are category-agnostic. The BAV allows global brands to be measured both globally as well as locally, can map the life-cycle of a brand, and relates performance on key brand metrics to financial performance.

This is possible with the help of nine tools or sub-offerings within the BAV, namely, Brand Health, Brand Imagery, Brand Archetypes, Brand Architecture, Consumer Segmentation, Consumer Loyalty, Category Insights, Brand Partnerships and Elasticity.

The four pillars that reflect Brand Health -- as well as brand development, brand momentum and the competitive advantage a brand has -- are energised differentiation (most closely linked to margins), relevance, brand esteem and knowledge. "These four," says Gautam Talwar, chief strategy officer, Rediffusion-Y&R, "are the building blocks of brand development."

The BAV analyses Brand Health by mapping brands on 'The Power Grid', that contains segments such as 'new brands', 'niche brands', 'leadership brands', 'mass market brands', 'unfocussed brands' and 'commoditised brands' on it. These zones are linked with consumer sentiments such as indifference, curiosity, commitment and fatigue.

The Consumer Loyalty tool categorises consumers into 'loyalists', 'switchers', 'resisters' and 'lapsers' and gives marketers insight about which of the brand's users are most likely to stay loyal to that particular brand.

The Brand Archetypes tool helps categorise brands into one or more of the Jungian archetypes, that are basically categories or 'types' coined by psychologist Carl Jung (including 'The Jester' and 'The Warrior.). "This will help a marketer understand how many competing brands in the same category (or across categories) carry the same persona as his own brand," explains Talwar.

It also helps marketers answer questions like 'Am I the most youthful brand?'

Consumer Segmentation provides an insight into how consumers across different segments -- such as gender and age -- view a particular brand. The Brand Partnerships tool is all about analysing the fit between brands and potential celebrity endorsers. The Elasticity tool is meant to aid marketers' decisions regarding which product categories they should extend their brand into and which categories they must avoid launching products in.

While the model is a quantitative one, the inferences are strategic in nature.

Internationally, the BAV has been developed with the help of data obtained from over 7,50,000 respondents, from the study of over 50,000 brands, across 200 categories and 70 unique measurable attributes, in over 50 countries, and involving over 250 studies. This effort, spanning 18 years of data analysis, has been a $150 million effort.

The BAV has been adapted for the Indian market, based on research done on around 5,000 consumers in 12 cities (metros and small towns). This strategic tool is available in five languages.