Brand Power: What is it? Model, Metrics & Examples

Welcome to our comprehensive guide to brand power, where we uncover some of the most potent ingredients that create truly successful brands.

From the magic of brand recognition, the binding force of customer loyalty, to the persuasive power of perceived quality, and the lofty heights of brand associations - we're going to explore it all.

We'll also share our secret recipe for success, including potent branding techniques, insightful content strategy, and incisive customer insight.

So buckle up, as we guide you through the exciting twists and turns of the power branding that make us fall head over heels for certain brands. Let's get started!

What is brand power?

So, what exactly is this elusive creature we call brand power? Is it just powerful branding? Not quite. 

Brand power refers to the strength of a brand's influence over consumers' buying decisions, perceptions, and loyalty. Businesses with brand power consistently deliver something that other brands can’t, and keep their target audience coming back for more.

In other words, it’s the fancy suit a company dons to impress its customers, the irresistible song it sings to lure them in, and, just like that toxic ex of yours you can't quite shake, it's all about the charisma, baby!

💡Unlock the True Power of Branding with our Transformational Roadmap

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What is the brand power model?

The brand power model is a delightful cocktail of factors that combine to create that irresistible allure we call brand appeal. Here are some definitions to help clarify:

• Articles on LinkedIn define the brand power model as “The ability of a brand to influence consumer behaviour and create a strong emotional connection with its target audience. It is a measure of a brand's strength and reputation in the market and is determined by three key factors: meaningfulness, difference, and salience.”
• SurveyMonkey defines brand power as “An intangible asset reflecting the dependability, familiarity, and value of a company’s products and services. These brands are well-known because the companies have established equity in the product name more than the attributes of the product itself.”
• The Cambridge Dictionary defines the brand power model as “The ability of a brand to attract a share of its particular market.”

Brand power vs brand equity

On the surface, brand power and brand equity might seem like they’re playing for the same team, but they’re as different as chalk and cheese, or for the millennials among us, as different as Instagram and TikTok.

Brand Power, like we've already established, is your brand's magnetic pull, the invisible puppet strings making your customers dance to your tunes. It's the Apple logo that increases your heart rate in anticipation, or the Starbucks siren that keeps luring you in.

On the other hand, we have Brand Equity. This not-so-little gem is the value your brand holds in the grand marketplace. 

Think about it as your brand's net worth if it decided to strut its stuff on Wall Street. It’s the monetary value that your brand’s name can pull in purely because of its reputation and what it stands for.

So, in this epic face-off, Brand Power is all about the influence and control, while Brand Equity is the big bucks your brand name can bring in. They're both integral to your brand's success - like salt and pepper, McCartney and Lennon, or the internet and cat videos.

What is the Brand Power Company?

The concept of brand power is not to be confused with the U.S company working under the same name. In advertising, the Brand Power Company is the iconic global masthead that invented third party advertising. This company works by harnessing the unrivalled credibility of voices other than the brands and helps to create the funnel that sales brands need.

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Power brands: What do they have that you don’t?

Power brands are the crème de la crème of the branding world. 

The names of these powerful, transformational brands carry clout and their products are in high demand. But even power brands can lose their steam if they don't stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation or marketing. 

Power brands have a special advantage in leveraging their reputation for influence and control, as well as their financial clout in the market. They have the ability to make a big splash in the market, with their products and campaigns. This gives them an edge in both gaining new customers as well as retaining existing ones.

Moreover, power brands are often able to invest heavily in research and development (R&D), which helps them come up with new ideas and products faster than smaller competitors. This can lead to unparalleled growth for brands that learn to truly harness their power.

Examples of brand power

• Ever tried to peel a teenager away from their iPhone? Good luck! Apple is a prime example of brand power in action. 
• Another is Starbucks—anyone who’s ever willingly queued for 20 minutes for a coffee that costs as much as a small house knows the strength of the Starbucks brand.
• The same goes for everyone that claims to prefer Coca Cola to Pepsi, even though in the great taste test of 2022, a huge 70% actually preferred the taste of Pepsi. Then why do we continue to buy Coca Cola? Because these brands have us wrapped around their little finger, and we can’t resist their charm.
• In the B2B world, Salesforce is a master of brand power. Over time, its powerful branding has made it the go-to software for customer relationship management, and its name carries an air of authority in the sector.

Metrics to measure brand power

To measure brand power, we need a metaphorical yardstick, something that can delve deep into the psyche of the consumer and gauge the depth of their brand infatuation.

These are the branding KPIs that matter - brand recognition, brand loyalty, brand associations, and perceived brand quality. Let's take a look at how each one impacts your brand power.

1. Brand recognition

What's one thing that all the most powerful brands share? That's right: people recognise them. Whether it's Google, Disney, or Apple, if people instantly recognise a brand, then the brand power is strong.

As such, brand recognition becomes a great metric for measuring brand power, as it tells you how familiar your target audience is with your products and services—and more importantly, if they remember them over time.

How to measure brand recognition

To measure brand recognition, you can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, and even online polls to gauge how familiar people are with your brand. 

You can also study and analyse your direct traffic levels to measure awareness of your brand, as well as consider your brand's recognition through social media, search engine rankings, and so on.

2. Brand loyalty

It's one thing to be recognised; it's another to be remembered and chosen above all others. 

This is why brand loyalty should be taken into consideration when measuring your brand power—it shows that people are hooked on your offering and come back for more, time after time.

How to measure brand loyalty

Brand loyalty can be measured in various ways, from customer surveys, to looking at the percentage of returning customers through analytics. 

You can also measure the NPS (Net Promoter Score) of your brand, which assesses customer loyalty to a product or service by looking at the likelihood that customers will recommend it to others.

3. Brand associations

Brand associations are an essential factor when measuring brand power, as they tell you how customers feel about your brand, from your brand image, to your overall brand architecture.

How is it perceived? Does it bring to mind positive associations such as quality, trustworthiness, and reliability? Or do people associate the brand with negative connotations like low cost or poor customer service? 

Answering these questions can help you measure the true power of your brand in the eye of the consumer.

How to measure brand associations

To measure brand associations, you can use surveys and polls to assess customer opinions, as well as look at the overall sentiment on social media about your brand.

You can also examine what competitors are doing—if customers associate a specific feature with a certain competitor, you can work to create a similar feature to capture those same associations with your brand.

4. Perceived brand quality

Perceived brand quality is similar to brand association, but has a distinct focus on how customers rate the quality of your product or service. 

Measuring this metric gives you an understanding of what people believe about your brand, and if it's worthy of their loyalty and trust.

How to measure perceived brand quality

To measure perceived brand quality, you can look at customer feedback through surveys and interviews, as well as analyse customer reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc. You can also embed Google reviews and other online review sites directly on your website to showcase authentic experiences and enhance your online presence. By displaying Google reviews on your website you instantly boosting your percieved brand quality, star ratings and review widgets allow users to instantly know you provide a good level of service.

You can also look at the customer lifetime value (CLV) to measure how much customers are willing to spend on your products or services and come back for more.

This will give you an indication of their perceived satisfaction with the quality of what they're getting from your brand. A powerful brand will often have a strong perceived brand quality.

How to build brand power

This is where powerful branding comes in.

In our 7-step brand strategy framework, we outline the key steps needed to create a powerful brand, which include:

1. Branding specialists: With their expertise in brand design from the ground up, a brand strategist can assist you in crafting an authentic and successful brand narrative. They will help you build your brand identity and create compelling visuals to effectively communicate your unique message.
2. Competitor analysis & user research: When it comes to building brand power, competitor analysis is absolutely crucial. You really need to understand where you stand compared to other players in your market. What are their strengths and weaknesses? And what is it that they offer that makes them stand out from the rest?
3. Brand vision statement: The brand vision statement should be an aspirational but realistic goal that serves as a source of inspiration for the business. It should clearly describe the kind of company you want to become, and outline how you plan to get there. This statement will provide a focus for all branding activities and serve as a guide for decision-making.
4. Visual identity: Visual identity is the foundation of a strong brand transformation, and it should be used consistently across all touchpoints to create a unified look. This includes elements such as logo design, typography, colour palette, iconography, and imagery. Having a well-crafted visual identity will help your brand stand out from the competition and make it easily recognizable in people’s minds.
5. Brand guidelines: Brand guidelines are the rule-book for your brand, setting out the dos and don’ts of how your branding should be used. They provide instructions on how logo design, typography, colours, imagery and other visual elements should be used to maintain brand consistency across different touchpoints.
6. Digital design: In order to ensure that your brand is visible and recognizable online, having a strong digital presence is essential. This involves crafting compelling web design with effective navigation and user experience, as well as creating engaging content for social media channels and other digital touchpoints.
7. Content strategy: Content is an important part of any brand building initiative. A content strategy should be employed to ensure that the right kind of content is created and distributed in order to engage and inform customers about your brand story. This could involve creating blogs, videos, podcasts or other forms of media which are tailored to speak to your target audience.

By utilising these steps, you'll be well on your way to building the brand power that's needed to captivate the hearts of your customers. The key is to use all of the ingredients - from powerful branding, to thoughtful content strategy and customer insight - to create a potent recipe for success! 

And finally...

In conclusion, brand power is the love potion that brands use to cast a spell on us consumers. It's a potent mix of recognition, loyalty, perceived quality, and associations, served in a highball glass of compelling branding. 

So, the next time you find yourself inexplicably drawn to a product, remember, it's not you, it's the brand power—and try to harness that power for your own brand!

At Huddle Creative, our professional branding services can help you create a powerful brand that stands out from the competition, captivates customers and drives sales. So, if you're looking to build your brand power and take your business to the next level, get in touch!

Brief us to start transforming your brand today.

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