Synovate launches product to predict sales impact

by Staff, Brand Republic 04-Dec-06, 08:00

LONDON - Market research firm Synovate has developed a new system that it says can predict the sales impact of brand owners' marketing investments.

Dubbed the Brand Value Creator, the system is designed to offer an understanding of how investments in a company's brand has an impact on its sales.

It also looks at the barriers are that prevent people from buying brands, including physical obstacles such as distribution and product availability, and the way non-marketing activity can influence a brand's desirability.

The system was developed by Jan Hofmeyr, an expert on branding and director of innovation at Synovate's brand and communications practice.

More than 400,000 brand observations, across almost 20 product categories ranging from media to financial services through packaged goods and FMCG, sampled on four continents, have been checked. New product areas are also being tested at present.

Hofmeyr said that for years market research has been unable to provide an accurate method for measuring the direct sales impact of a company's brand investments.

"Brands have been using bad metrics because of the lack of better alternatives. Most of their research money is spent measuring loosely connected attributes such as ‘brand awareness' and ‘purchase intent' which do not predict sales results," he said.

More information about the Brand Value Creator, including a working simulator, is available online.

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