Brand awareness can be measured by showing a consumer the brand and asking whether or not they knew of it beforehand. However, in common market research practice a variety of recognition and recall measures of brand awareness are employed all of which test the brand name’s association to a product category cue, this came about because most market research in the 20th Century was conducted by post or telephone, actually showing the brand to consumers usually required more expensive face-to-face interviews (until web-based interviews became possible). This has led many textbooks to conceptualise brand awareness simply as its measures, that is, knowledge that the brand is a member of a particular product category, e.g. soft-drinks. Examples of such measures include:

* Brand recognition – Either the brand name or both the brand name and category name are presented to respondents.
* Brand recall – the product category name is given to respondents who are asked to recall as many brands as possible that are members of the category.
* Top of mind brand awareness – as above, but only the first brand recalled is recorded (also known as spontaneous brand recall).

Research on metrics

There has been discussion in industry and practice about the meaning and value of various brand awareness metrics. Recently, an empirical study appeared to put this debate to rest by suggested that all awareness metrics were systematically related, simply reflecting their difficulty, in the same way that certain questions are more difficult in academic exams.

Stability of responses

While brand awareness scores tend to be quite stable at aggregate (level) level, individual consumers show considerable propensity to change their responses to recall based brand awareness measures. For top of mind recall measures, consumers give the same answer in two interviews typically only 50% the time. Similar low levels of consistency in response have been recorded for other cues to elicit brand name responses

But a lot of issues actually circle the concept of branding metrics. This is because the metrics put in practice would differ from one particular brand of item to another. what works for a particular item, like a computer, just might not work for another item, like a watch. The companies producing computers and watches would then have and use different branding metrics. Similarly, what works for a particular computer company just might not work for another company developing computers as well. The objectives of each company have to be determined and considered here. this fact adds to the confusion of using branding metrics. Which is precisely why the next generation in branding metrics should focus on bottom-line results.

Making such a direct connection presents much of a challenge for all companies of any industry. There are a lot of factors to consider here as well. However, for some companies, the simple causal correlation is enough to make a direct connection between branding metrics and the company’s overall performance.

Typically, branding metrics can actually be grouped into two categories, which are performance metrics and perception metrics. Performance metrics are used in assessing how successful activities for brand-building are. Loyalty, price premium, and lifetime values of customers are the basic indicators employed by performance metrics. Perception metrics, on the other hand, monitor aspects about the brand that are intangible. Consideration, awareness, and relevance are some of the indicators employed by this category by branding metrics. This type is equally important because the indicators themselves are very effective in gauging just how efficient the company’s activities towards brand-building are. More importantly, these brand-building activities should still be linked to the overall performance of the business.

No matter what type of metrics or performance indicators you use, effectiveness is ensured when there is a clear link developed between brand and business strategies. These metrics can clearly show you how better management of the brand can be achieved, and at the same time, provide you the rationale towards effective allocation of the resources for both the brand and the business. More importantly, any business would actually benefit much if a measured approach that is consistent is used to gauge its overall performance. One such measured approach could be in the form of a scorecard.

Of course, the brand metrics incorporated into the scorecard should be minimal, and should still have a direct connection with the performance of the business. Why is there a need to keep the number of brand metrics at a minimal? Simply because when you incorporate so many metrics into the scorecard, measuring overall performance would be hazy because there are so many factors taken into consideration. Thus, you should just concentrate on the branding metrics that are more relevant to the whole picture.

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Talking in broader terms, promotional gifts categories include free products gifted as “marketing specialties,” given to in response to specific actions, tradeshow giveaways, business gifts, and employee incentives or rewards.

With the help of the latest imprinting techniques, your chosen products can be emblazoned with your company’s name, logo, slogan, and message for maximum effect. Promotional gifts have proved to be great tools to generate brand name recognition, create customer or employee goodwill, and popularise brand name often at very little cost.

The majority of such items are usually inexpensive and if they are bought in bulk, they cost you much less. If we go by the statistics, industry estimates indicate that such products racked up over 17 billion pounds in UK sales in 2004. In fact, they have become more popular in all types of industries, ranging from construction and service trades to academic and government.

Each and every business irrespective of its genre can benefit from the appropriate gift, but you need to get the right product for the right audience at the right price. You can get this problem easily solved at one of the many reputed suppliers, providing a wide range of promotional items. Advertising gifts certainly compliment and increase the effectiveness of other marketing strategies, only if they are directed to selected audiences. Advertising gifts can dramatically boost the sales and gifting gifts like calendars will make your company name and message stay in front of your consumers all year long.

Though every promotional item carries its own life, but advertising items remain in use for long periods of time repeating the message each time they are used without extra cost per exposure. Leading designers make sure that you get exactly what you are looking for. Unless you are satisfied, they keep on providing you advertising gifts. To know more about these and corporate , business, and promotional products simply check out the leading online suppliers.

Gareth Parkin is the co-founder of Ideasbynet, the UK’s leading online promotional gifts and promotional items company based in the north of England. Established in 2001, he has taken the UK gift market by storm by the application of modern business thinking and the latest search engine marketing techniques. For more details visit http://www.ideasbynet.com

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