Brand Tracking
Ongoing measurement of brand awareness, perception, and competitive position.
Definition
Brand tracking measures brand health metrics over time through regular surveys of target audiences. Typical metrics include unaided and aided awareness, consideration, preference, associations, and net promoter score. Tracking reveals how marketing activities and market events affect brand position.
Modern brand tracking combines survey data with digital signals—search volume, social mentions, review sentiment—for more comprehensive and timely brand health understanding than periodic surveys alone provide.
Why It Matters
Brand equity significantly impacts business outcomes but changes slowly and isn't visible in transaction data. Brand tracking provides early warning when equity erodes and validates that brand investments are building value.
For marketing leaders, brand tracking data supports budget allocation decisions by quantifying the brand's contribution to business performance.
Examples in Practice
A brand campaign's effect was visible in tracking data three months before it appeared in sales results, providing early validation that guided continued investment.
Tracking revealed declining consideration despite stable awareness, indicating message problems rather than reach issues and redirecting campaign strategy.
Competitive brand tracking showed a rival gaining consideration among a key segment, prompting accelerated positioning work before market share was affected.