Building

Customer-Based
Brand Equity
C vv a t i n g b r a ii d
r es0 n a ncc rcq u irc s
c a r c f II I i y s v c| u c n c c d
b r a n d -1) u i 1 d i n g
V ffo r t s.
By K e \ i n 1. a ii i' K c 11 (.• i

BUILDING A STRONG BRAND with great equity provides a host of possible benefits to a firm, such
as greater customer loyalty and less vulnerability to competitive marketing actions or marketing crises;
larger margins; more favorable customer response to price increases and decreases; greater trade or inter-
mediary cooperation and support; increased marketing communication effectiveness; and licensing and
brand extension opportunities.
Companies are interested in building strong brands with great equity, but getting there isn t always
easy. To build brand equity, companies must start with the basics. What makes a brand strong? How do
you build a strong brand? To help answer these questions, I developed a model of brand building called
the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model, which maps out what brand equity is and how it should
best be built, measured, and managed.
The CBBE model was designed to be comprehensive, cohesive, well-grounded, up to date, and
actionable. The premise of this model is that the power of a brand lies in what customers have learned,
felt, seen, and heard about the brand over time. The power of a brand is in what resides in the minds of
customers. Marketers' continuing challenge in building a strong brand is to ensure customers have the
right types of experiences with products and services and their accompanying marketing programs so
the desired thoughts, feelings, images, perceptions, and attitudes become linked to the brand.

The Four Steps

Building a strong brand, according to the CBBE model, can be thought of as a series of steps, where
each step is contingent on successfully achieving the previous step. The first step is to ensure identifica-
tion of the brand with customers and an association of the brand in customers' minds with a specific
product class or customer need. The second step is to firmly establish the brand meaning in the minds
of customers (i.e., by strategically linking a host of tangible and intangible brand associations). The third
step is to elicit the proper customer responses to this brand identity and brand meaning. The final step
is to convert brand response to create an intense, active loyalty relationship between customers and the
brand.
The following four steps represent fundamental questions that customers invariably ask about
brands—either implicitly or explicitly: (1) Who are you? {brand identity) (2) What are you? {brand meaning)
(3) What do 1 think or feel about you? {hniiid responsL's) (4) Wliat kind of association and how much of a con-
nection would I likf to have with you? (brand relationships)
The steps in this "branding ladder" follow an order, from identity to meaning to responses to rela-
tionships. Meaning cannot be established without first creating identity; responses cannot occur unless
companies develop the right brand meaning; and a relationship cannot be forged without getting the
proper responses from customers.

MM July/August 2 0 0 1 ] 15
 EXECUTIVE b r i e f i n g
A comprehensive new approach, the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model, lays out a series of steps for building a strong brand:
(1) establish the proper brand identity, (2) create the appropriate brand meaning, (3) elicit the right brand responses, and (4) forge appro-
priate brand relationships with customers. The CBBE model also depends on six brand-building blocks—salience, performance, imagery,
judgments, feelings, and resonance—that help provide the foundation for successful brand development.

Six Brand-Building Blocks related considerations. These brand associations can be formed
Imagine the foundation of a strong brand as a logically con- directly from a customer's own experiences and contact with the
structed set of six "brand-building blocks" with customers: brand through advertising or some other source of infonnation
saiience, performance, imagery, judgments, feelings, and resonance. (e.g., word of mouth).
Then assemble these building blocks in a brand pyramid. To cre- Performance. The product is the heart of brand equity. It is
ate significant brand equity, it's crucial to put the right brand- the primary influence of what consumers experience, what they
building blocks in place and then reach the pinnacle of the pyra- hear about, and what the firm tells customers about the brand.
mid. This brand-building process is illustrated in Exhibits 1 and 2. Designing and delivering a product that fully satisfies con-
sumer needs and wants is a prerequisite for successful market-
Brand Identity ing, regardless of whether the product is a tangible good, serv-
Achieving the right brand identity requires creating brand ice, or organization. To create brand loyalty and resonance, con-
salience with customers. Brand salience relates to aspects of sumers' experiences with the product must meet, if not surpass,
brand awareness; How often and easily is the brand evoked their expectations,
under various situations or circumstances? To what extent is the Brand performance is the way the product or service
brand easily recalled or recognized? What types of cues or attempts to meet customers' more functional needs. It refers to
reminders are necessary? How pervasive is this brand aware- the intrinsic properties of the brand, including inherent product
ness? Brand awareness refers to the customers' ability to recall or service characteristics. How well does the brand rate on
and recognize the brand. Building brand awareness means objective assessments of quality? To what extent does the brand
ensuring that customers understand the product or service cate- satisfy utilitarian, aesthetic, and economic customer needs and
gory where the brand competes and creating clear links to prod- wants in the product or service category?
ucts or services sold under the brand name. At a broader level, it
The performance attributes and benefits making up func-
means making sure customers know which of their "needs" the
tionality will vary by category, However, five important types of
brand is designed to satisfy. What basic functions does the attributes and benefits often underlie brand performance:
brand provide to customers?
Criteria for brand identity. Two key dimensions distin- 1. Primary characteristics and supplementary features.
guish brand awareness—depth and breadth. Depth of brand Customers have beliefs about the levels at wliich the primary
awareness refers to how easily customers can recall or recognize characteristics of the product operate (e.g., low, medium,
the brand. Breadth refers to the range of purchase and consump- high, or very high). They also may have beliefs as to special,
tion situations where the brand comes to mind. A highly salient perhaps even patented, features or secondary elements of a
brand is one with both depth and breadth of brand awareness product that complement these primary characteristics.
(i.e., customers make sufficient purchases and always think of
the brand across a variety of settings). 2. Product reliability, durability, and serviceability.
The brand must not only be "top of mind" and have sufficient Reliabihty refers to the consistency of performance over
"mind share," but it must also do so at tlie right time and place. For time and from purchase to purchase. Durability is the
many brands, the key question is not whether or not customers can expected economic life of the product. Serviceability refers
recall the brand, but rather where and when do they think of the to the ease of servicing the product if it needs repair. Thus,
brand, and how easily and often do they think of it? In particular, perceptions of product perfonnance are affected by factors
many brands and products are ignored or forgotten at possible such as the speed, accuracy, and care of product delivery
usage situations. Increasing the salience of the brand in those set- and installation; the promptness, courtesy, and helpfulness
tings can help drive consumption and increase sales volume. of customer service and training; and the quality of repair
service and the time involved.
Brand Meaning
To give meaning to a brand, it's important to create a brand 3. Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy. Customers
image and establish what the brand is characterized by and have performance-related associations related to service
should stand for in customers' minds. Although a myriad of dif- interactions they have with brands. Service effectiveness
ferent types of brand associations are possible, brand meaning refers to how completely the brand satisfies customers'
broadly can be distinguished in terms of more functional, per- service requirements. Service efficiency refers to how these
formance-related considerations vs. more abstract, imagery- services are delivered in terms of speed and responsiveness.

16 I MM July/August 200 1
 Service empathy occurs when service providers are seen as class, charming); and (5) ruggedness {e.g., outdoorsy,
trusting, caring, and with customer's interests in mind. tough). (See Additional Reading, page 19.)

4, Stylo and design. Consumers may have associations with 4. History, heritage, and experiences. Finally, brands may take
the product that go beyond its functional aspects to more on associations with their past and certain noteworthy events
aesthetic considerations such as its size, shape, materials, in the brand history. These types of associations may involve
and color involved. Performance also may depend on sen- distinctly personal experiences or be related to past behav-
sory aspects such as how a product looks, feels, and even iors and experiences of others. Associations with history, her-
how it sounds or smells. itage, and experiences involve more specific, concrete exam-
ples that transcend the generalizations of usage imagery.
5. Price. The pricing policy for the brand can create associa-
tions in consumers' minds with the relevant price tier or
level for the brand in the category {e.g., low, medium, or
HIBIT 1
high priced) as well as with its corresponding price volatili-
tomer-based brand equity pyramid
ty or variance (e.g., frequently or infrequently discounted).

Brand performance transcends just the "ingredients" that

make up the product or service to encompass aspects of the
brand that augment these ingredients. Any of these different per-
formance dimensions can help differentiate the brand. Often the
strongest brand positioning involves performance advantages,
AResonance
4. Relationships =
What about you and me?

3. Response =
and only rarely can a brand overcome severe deficiencies here. Wtiat about you?

Imagery. Brand meaning also involves brand imagery,

which deals with the extrinsic properties of the product or serv- Jucigments I Feelings
ice, including the ways the brand attempts to meet customers' 2. Meaning =
more abstract psychological or social needs. Four categories of What are you?

brand imagery stand out:

Performance Imagery

1. User profiles. Imagery may cause customers to have a pro- 1. Identity =

file or nienUil image of users or idealized users. Who are you?

Associations of a typical or idealized brand user may be

based on descriptive demographic factors (e.g., gender, age,
race, or income) or more abstract psychographic factors
(e.g., attitudes toward life, careers, possessions, social HIBIT 2
issues, or political institutions). In a B2B setting, user -dimensions of brand-building blocks
imagery might relate to the size or type of organization. If
customers believe many people use a brand, they may then
view the brand as "popular" or a "market leader."

2. Purchase and usage situations. Associations of a typical

purchase .situation may be based on type of channel (e.g.,
department store, specialty store, or Internet), specific store
(e.g., Macy's, Foot Locker, Fogdog.com), ease of purchase, Credibility
or associated rewards. Associations of a typical usage situa- Consideralion
tion may depend on when or where the brand is used (e.g., Superiority
time of day, inside, outside the home) and type of activity
where the brand is used (e.g., formal, informal).
ipilmaiy Dharacteristics User profiles
#ancl secondary leatures Purchase and
3. Personality and values. Brand personality is often related jfl Product reliabitity. usage situations
to moa^ descriptive usage imagery, but involves more con- l a b i l i t y , and serviceabili^ Pecsonality and values
textual information. Jennifer Aaker identifies five dimen- Service effecliveness, History, heritage,
,,et(icienc7, and empathy and experiences
sions of brand personality: (1) sincerity (e.g., down to earth, Style and design
honest, wholesome, cheerful); (2) excitement (e.g., daring, Puce
spirited, imaginative, up-to-date); (3) competence (e.g., reli-
able, intelligent, successful); (4) sophistication (e.g., upper

MM July/August 2001 1 17
 Criteria for brand meaning. Regardless of tbe type 4. Superiority. Finally, brand judgments depend on whether
involved, the brand associations making up tbe brand image customers view the brand as unique and better than other
and meaning can be profiled according to three key dimensions: brands. Do customers believe the brand offers advantages
(1) strength (bow strongly the brand is identified witb a brand that other brands cannot? Superiority is critical for building
association), (2) favorabiUty (how important or valuable the intense and active relationships with customers and will
brand association is to customers), and (3) uniqueness (how depend on the number and nature of unique brand associa-
distinctively the brand is identified with the brand association). tions that make up the brand image.
Successful results on tbese dimensions produce tbe most
positive brand responses, the underpinning of intense and active Feelings. Customers' emotional reactions to the brand relate
brand loyalty. To create brand equity, the brand must have to the social currency the brand evokes. What feelings does the
Strong, favorable, and unique brand associations—in that order. marketing program for the brand evoke? How does the brand
It doesn't matter bow unique a brand association is if customers affect customers' feelings about themselves and their relation-
don't evaluate the association favorably, and it doesn't matter ship with others? These feelings can be mild, intense, positive,
how desirable a brand association is unless customers actually or negative in nature. Kahle and colleagues point out six impor-
recall it and link it to the brand. At the same time, not all associa- tant types of feelings related to brand building. The first three
tions are favorable, and not all favorable associations are unique. are more experiential and immediate, increasing in level of
Strong brands typically have firmly established strong, intensity; the latter three are more private and enduring, increas-
favorable, and unique brand associations with consumers, ing in level of gravity.
which are essential for building customer-based brand equity.
Examples include Volvo, Michelin (safety), Intel (performance, 1. Warmth. The brand makes consumers feel peaceful, senti-
compatibility), Marlboro (westem imagery). Coke (Americana, mental, warmhearted, or affectionate.
refreshment), Disney (fun, magical, family entertainment), Nike I

(innovative products, peak athletic performance), and BMW 2. Fun. The brand makes consumers feel upbeat, amused,
(styling, driving performance).
lighthearted, joyous, playful, or cheerful.

Brand Responses 3. Excitement. Consumers feel energized about the brand and
To implement the CBBE model, companies must pay atten- believe they are experiencing something special. Brands that
tion to how customers respond to the brand, its marketing activ- evoke excitement may result in consumers feeling a sense of
ity, and sources of information (i.e., what customers think or feel elation or a sensation that the brand is cool or sexy.
about the brand). These brand responses can be distinguished
according to brand judgments and brand feelings (depending on 4. Security. The brand produces a feeling of safety, comfort,
whether tbey stem from the bead or heart). and self-assurance without worry or concerns about the
Judgments. Brand judgments focus on customers' personal brand. •
opinions about the brand based on how they put together differ-
ent performance and imagery associations. Customers may 5. Social approval. Consumers have positive feelings about
make all types of judgments with respect to a brand, but four the reactions of others (i.e., when consumers feel others look
types of summary judgments are particularly crucial to creating favorably on their appearance or behavior) to the brand.
a strong brand (in ascending order of importance). Approval may occur when others directly acknowledge the
consumer using the brand or when the product itself is
1. Quality. Customers may hold a host of attitudes toward attributed to consumers.
brands, but the most important relate to the brand's per-
ceived quality. Other quality-related attitudes pertain to 6. Self-respect. This occurs when the brand makes consumers
perceptions of value and satisfaction. feel better about themselves, creating a sense of pride,
accomplishment, or fulfillment.
2. Credibility. Brand credibility refers to the extent the brand
as a whole is seen as credible in terms of three dimensions: Criteria for brand responses. Although all types of customer
expertise (e.g., competent, innovative, a market leader), responses are possible when driven from both the head and heart,
trustworthiness (e.g., dependable, keeping customer inter- ultimately what matters is how positive they are. Additionally,
ests in mind), and likeability (e.g., fun, interesting, worth they must be accessible and come to mind when consumers think
spending time with). of the brand. Brand judgments and feelings can only favorably
influence consumer behavior if consumers internalize or think of
3. Consideration. Favorable brand attitudes and credibility positive responses in any of their encounters with the brand.
are important, but customers must also seriously consider
purchasing or using the brand. Consideration depends in Brand Relationships
part on how personally relevant customers find the brand The final step focuses on the relationship and level of per-
(i.e., whether customers view the brand as appropriate and sonal identification the customer has with the brand. Brand res-
meaningful to them). onance refers to the nature of the relationship customers have

18 I M M J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 0 1
with the brand and whether they feel in synch with the brand.
HIBIT3
It is characterized by the depth of the psychological bond cus-
Customer-based brand equity pyramid
tomers have with the brand as well as how much activity this
loyalty engenders. Brand resonance can be broken down into
four categories:

1. Behavioral loyalty. Repeat purchases and the amount or

share of category volume attributed to the brand are the
main attributes of behavioral loyalty. How often do cus-
tomers purchase a brand and how much do they purchase?
For bottom-line profit results, the brand must generate suf-
ficient purchase frequencies and volumes. Consumer \
/Consumer
/ judgments feelings \
2. Attitudinal attachment. Some customers may buy out of Strong, favorable and
unique brand associations
necessity if the brand is the only product readily accessible
or is the only one they can afford to buy. To create reso- / Brand Brand \
/ performance imagery \
nance, the brand must be perceived as something special in
a broader context. For example, customers with a great deal Deep, broad brand
Brand sailence awareness
of attitudinal attachment to a brand may state they "love" it
and describe it as one of their favorite possessions or view
it as a "little pleasure" they look forward to.
the brand. A brand with the right identity and meaning can
3. Sense of community. Identification with a brand communi- result in a customer believing the brand is relevant to them. The
ty may help customers feel a kinship with other people strongest brands will be the ones to which those consumers
associated with the brand. These connections may involve become so attached that they, in effect, become evangelists and
fellow brand users or customers or instead may be employ- actively seek means to interact with the brand and share their
ees or representatives of the company. experiences with others.
A carefully constructed and sequenced brand-building
4. Active engagement. Perhaps the strongest affirmation of effort based on the CBBE model can help companies achieve
brand loyalty is when customers are willing to invest time, brand resonance. Firms that are able to achieve resonance and
energy, money, or other resources into the brand beyond affinity with their customers should reap a host of valuable ben-
those expended during purchase or consumption. For exam- efits, such as greater price premiums and more efficient and
• pie, customers may choose to join a club centered on a brand effective marketing programs. Using the CBBE model, mar-
or receive updates and exchange correspondence with other keters can better assess how brand-building efforts are progress-
brand users or formal or informal representatives of the ing and can create successful marketing research initiatives. •
brand. They may visit brand-related Web sites or participate
in chat rooms. In this case, customers themselves become Additional Reading
brand evangelists and help to communicate about the brand Aaker Jennifer (1997), "Dimensions of Brand Personality,"
and strengthen the brand ties of others. Strong attitudinal Journal of Marketing Research, 34 (August), 347-357,
attachment and/or sense of community are typically neces-
sary for active engagement with the brand to occur. Kahle, Lynn, Basil Poulos, and Ajay Sukhdial (1998), "Changes in
Social Values in the United States During the Past Decade,"
Criteria for brand relationships. Brand relationships involve Journal of Advertising Research, (February/March), 35-41.
two dimensions—intensity and activity. Intensity is the strength
of the attitudinal attachment and sense of commuruty. Activity
refers to how frequently the consumer buys and uses the brand, About the Author
as well as engages in other activities not related to purchase and Kevin Lane Keller is the E.B. Osbom Professor of Marketing at the
consumption on a day-to-day basis. Examples of brands with Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He may be
high resonance include Harley-Davidson, Apple, and eBay. reached at kevin.keller@dartmouth.edu.

Brand-Building Implications
With the CBBE model, the strongest brands excel in all six
of the brand-building blocks. The most valuable building block,
brand resonance, occurs when all the other brand-building
blocks are completely in synch with customers' needs, wants,
and desires. (See Exhibit 3.) Simply put, brand resonance reflects
a completely harmonious relationship between customers and

MM July/August 2001 I 19