What is a Brand Audit? Lorraine Carter, Persona Branding and Design

What is a brand audit and why might you need to get one done for your brand? If you're listening to this now perhaps its because your brand is under performing or just not hitting the mark with your target audience as effectively as it should. A brand audit is effectively a health check for your business, product or service. It's a thorough examination of your brand's current status in terms of things like positioning, messaging, value, customer experience, deficiencies, trends, appearance and so forth, benchmarked against global trends, best practice and your competitors. It doesn't matter whether you're selling a service or physical products or even 'ideas' to get your market to 'buy into' your way of thinking, sometimes brands need to be audited because they're just not achieving their objectives. If you get an audit done of your brand it will help you identify your possible areas of weakness so you can effectively make the right changes to increase your reach or grow your profitability. Typically we're asked to do a brand audit because of things like • low level brand awareness • falling sales • lack of market penetration • deficiencies in the brand and its messaging • outside threats • to measure market perception, image, reputation and attitude to the brand • and effectiveness of brand management efforts When we conduct brand audits they vary immensely from one client to another in terms of areas of focus and the level of detail required but typically a brand audit can include things like: • reviewing marketing and brand strategy plans • auditing all your visual communications collateral like your website, logo, tagline, brochures, uniforms, signage, packaging, exhibition stands and so forth. A brand audit can also include: • reviewing things like your brand positioning, values, story and personality • what are the gaps between perceptions, aspirations and realities with regard to your brand? Are your customers getting and experiencing what you think you're giving them? Do they even know about everything you offer or provide? If you're having problems with your brand chances are you need a brand audit health check to identify where the problems lie and how they can be corrected. The outputs from your audit could help you achieve: • better brand communications • ensure your brand collateral delivers better return on investment • provide insight into your brand architecture, business structure and brand portfolio • enhance both internal and external brand awareness between staff and customers alike • and provide direction for your brand now and into the future In short a brand audit can help you grow your business, become more profitable and increase your market share. If you'd like to find out more you can get in touch using the contact details on our site http://www.personadesign.ie E: [email protected] T: +353 1 8322724