Thanks to the opportunities created by new methods and technologies, brand measurement is shifting from passive monitoring to proactive, predictive measurement. According to Kantar’s Mary Kyriakidi, who spoke at the ESOMAR Congress in Prague, traditional methods of brand tracking are no longer sufficient. “Ten years ago, we launched campaigns and waited weeks for the results to emerge. Today, we need accurate data daily,” Kyriakidi says.
The current approach to brand measurement therefore combines multiple data sources and links them to financial performance. Technologies such as AI and advanced analytics make it possible to track genuine changes in real time. This allows marketers to see the impact of marketing investment not only on penetration and sales volume but also on long-term brand value and company profit. Daily metrics provide an early-warning system and support strategic decision-making.
This approach transforms brand measurement from a stand-alone research tool into a live source of information available to everyone across the organisation. According to Mary Kyriakidi, this shift marks the end of an era in which marketing operated on the sidelines. Today, brand measurement is becoming a strategic asset that supports business growth and long-term brand value.
Your presentation at the ESOMAR Congress focused on a new approach to brand measurement. What exactly does this concept mean, and how does it differ from traditional measurement?
Think back to ten years ago: you launched a campaign and waited. Not hours or days, but weeks. You examined static charts and moving averages, hoping to see the campaign’s impact in them. But the feedback was slow, vague, and often arrived too late to act upon. In reality, you were not tracking developments; you were looking at the past.
What held traditional measurement back was its dependence on moving averages. This was necessary because limited sample sizes meant that anomalies had to be “smoothed out”. The result, however, was that it took forever for any change to become visible. Brands therefore had no way of knowing when they needed to change direction.
Today, it is possible to measure brands without waiting for averages covering weeks that have already passed. Our True Signal technique uses AI and Kalman filtering, which learns from previous data and detects outliers. This allows us to reduce “noise” in real time and deliver accurate daily metrics. Today’s figure really is today’s figure, transforming measurement into an early-warning system.
Instead of static, backward-looking measurement, we now have a brand analytics system that is continuous, draws on multiple sources, is AI-assisted and is linked to business outcomes. The key difference is that it provides daily data for decision-making, connecting short-term movement with long-term brand value and profit. Data from multiple sources—including surveys, search, social media and sales—is integrated in one place, tracking fast-moving behavioural signals alongside slower, more sustainable long-term shifts in brand value. It can also predict what is likely to happen and what marketers should do next.
The key difference is that it provides daily data for decision-making, connecting short-term movement with long-term brand value and profit.
Mary Kyriakidi
As you have said, traditional brand measurement tends to be associated with lengthy questionnaires and slower feedback. How has the approach to measuring brand health changed in recent years?
Over the past ten years, we have moved beyond simply measuring attitudes. We have successfully integrated behaviour and neuroscientific interpretations derived from both survey and non-survey data. We have also been able to track a larger number of brands, including those in highly competitive categories. Adapting surveys for mobile devices has brought about a major shift. I would say that surveys have become a more pleasant experience both for respondents and those using the results. To measure brand health in an era of rapid change and expanding digital channels, we use our MDS (Meaningfull-Different-Salient) framework. It helps marketers measure a brand’s true value. It takes meaningfulness, difference and mental availability into account and explains what happens when a brand’s functional benefits are combined with an emotional connection.
Let me give you an example. As an ordinary consumer, I am exposed every day to hundreds of small brand touchpoints to which I pay little attention. Some of these touchpoints are initiated by brands, while others arise from my experience of a product or service, shaping both my attitudes and my behaviour. At the same time, I am active: I search online, click on links, receive recommendations and look at packaging. Each of these interactions carries weight, even though marketers do not always notice them because they focus only on data that can be measured easily. The MDS framework helps them track how brand value is created in consumers’ minds and how it affects penetration, market share, willingness to pay and future growth potential. This allows brand managers not only to understand a brand’s current position, but also to make decisions about its future strategic direction.
Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics are important to this type of measurement. Can AI replace traditional surveys?
Artificial intelligence is now a driver of accuracy and speed. It can identify outliers in data, reduce noise, predict trends and power assistants that recommend which areas of the data deserve attention. Advanced analytics is an essential part of modern marketing because, without it, it is impossible to link brand value with revenue, customer experience and media activity.
It is important to emphasise, however, that new technologies complement rather than replace traditional research methods. Consumer behaviour can be tracked using search, social media or sales data, but surveys remain the only way to capture perceptions of a brand, which determine its pricing power and future growth.
Artificial intelligence also makes information easier to access. While analysts need detailed insights, the wider organisation and senior management are more likely to appreciate AI assistants capable of interpreting data and turning it into clear, comprehensible recommendations.
Advanced analytics is an essential part of modern marketing because, without it, it is impossible to link brand value with revenue, customer experience and media activity.
Mary Kyriakidi
Which metrics do you consider the most important for tracking brand health today? And how has their significance changed?
Despite the growing emphasis on effectiveness, only 11% of marketers believe they are “very successful” at demonstrating the effectiveness of their brand to senior management. I am often asked whether brand value can really be linked to sales. Yes, it can.
We have identified seven key metrics: Meaningful, Different, Salient, Demand Power, Pricing Power, Activation Power and Future Power. All of these have verified causal links to business outcomes, and brands that score more highly on them achieve better financial results. These metrics have also been certified by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) as having a demonstrable connection to financial indicators.
For example, Demand Power and Activation Power correlate with volume market share. Pricing Power is linked to the price index that consumers are willing to pay. Future Power can predict changes in value share over the following 12 months.
Responding quickly to market changes is a major topic today. How exactly can Kantar provide marketers with real-time insights?
True Signal’s daily readings create a robust early-warning system. They allow marketers to see genuine changes as soon as they occur and respond before a problem becomes more serious. For example, in TUI’s case, the integration of daily surveys with search, social media and sales data made it possible to separate the effect of December’s brand-building activity from that of January’s performance campaigns and demonstrate the multiplier effect in real time.
How can “what-if” simulations help marketers make decisions about media investment or changes to their communications?
“What-if” simulations give marketers the opportunity to test the effects of different decisions before implementing them. What if we move more of the budget into digital video? What if we refresh the message and focus on sustainability? What if we reintroduce a distinctive brand asset?
Based on Kantar’s validated models and norms, the simulations predict how these changes would affect brand value, sales or return on investment. They provide a way to move from passively monitoring a brand to actively shaping its future—with greater confidence and speed.
Marketers often ask me whether brand value can really be linked to sales. Yes, it can.
Mary Kyriakidi
The expansion of digital channels, the fragmentation of attention and the rise of AI are fundamentally changing the entire landscape. What do you see as the greatest challenge in measuring brands on digital platforms?
One of the most common challenges is distinguishing meaningful data from random fluctuations, or noise. Sudden spikes on social media, for example, may appear significant but are often superficial. Combining search and social media data provides a more accurate picture. One example is Tiffany’s July 2021 “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” campaign, which attracted criticism on social media. (Editor’s note: This was primarily because of the slogan, which some female customers and mothers may have interpreted as suggesting that they no longer belonged with the brand.) Our analysis, however, showed that fundamental indicators such as search activity and broader sentiment remained stable. The controversy was largely confined to a vocal minority, demonstrating the importance of distinguishing short-term online noise from genuine changes in brand health.
Another challenge is last-click bias and the use of isolated KPIs, where overvaluing an immediate response to a campaign undermines the value of brand-building. Last-click bias is a trap that has prompted a great deal of discussion.
The third challenge is data waste and gaps in decision-making. Teams often purchase more data than they are able to use, while the complexity or isolation of that data slows down its application in decision-making.
Emotional connections between brands and consumers have become increasingly important. How can these connections be measured and monitored over the long term?
Kantar’s research shows that building meaningful connections is not merely a branding ideal, but a proven driver of long-term growth. Brands that invest both in performance marketing and in brand-building—and measure their impact holistically—outperform those that focus solely on short-term results.
Furthermore, brands that effectively reach more people through difference and mental availability achieve up to nine times the volume share and twice the average price and are four times more likely to grow in the future.
What impact do you think current brand measurement capabilities will have on marketing practice? Can brand measurement become not only a research tool but also a strategic asset for brand growth?
That is exactly what is happening. “New” brand measurement provides the evidence needed for strategies focused on profit, not merely on increasing market share. This gives marketing greater credibility by demonstrating that it can deliver genuine value. The shift from “vanity” to “value” means that brand management is moving beyond simple reporting towards the effective allocation of resources across media, innovation, distribution and pricing, as the metrics can be understood in business terms. It also helps build a culture of effectiveness because decisions must be supported by evidence. Nor is this limited to communications. All four marketing Ps—including the often-overlooked area of price—can be supported by measurable results and used to make a compelling business case to senior executives.
“New” brand measurement provides the evidence needed for strategies focused on profit, not merely on increasing market share. This gives marketing greater credibility by demonstrating that it can deliver genuine value.
Mary Kyriakidi
Where do you think the measurement of brand health and brand value will go over the next five to ten years?
Imagine if anyone—not just the market analytics team—could ask a question and receive a clear answer immediately. For example: “Are we still top of mind among younger audiences?” or “Did our latest campaign change perceptions of the brand?” They would not even have to work their way through complex dashboards; AI would make everything readily accessible. This fundamentally changes the approach because brand measurement is no longer isolated. Instead, it becomes a live source of brand information available to everyone across the organisation. This does not mean replacing the analytics team; rather, it frees up their time. They can then focus on interpreting the “why” and on guiding strategic decisions.
KPIs linked to business outcomes will become a key element of presentations to senior management, as they enable marketers to support proposed marketing activities in financial terms. Brand measurement is evolving into advanced brand analytics, incorporating business data, predictions and insights and acting as a system that supports brand growth.
Study: How to Turn Brand Tracking into Growth
On Wednesday, 7 October, Kantar published a study entitled 5 Truths to Turn Tracking into Growth. It shows that having more data is no longer enough and that organisations need to identify the key signals that influence brand growth. The study presents five insights into how brand tracking can be transformed into growth. Among other things, it explains the importance of connecting data from four sources: search, social media, surveys and sales. The study is available to download free of charge here.
Source: mediaguru.cz