Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Place-brand Success Benchmarks

Posted by sandysmith on 6/10/2013 at 10:53 AM ET 250 Points
I have been asked to benchmark the success of a place-branding project that is just now entering the execution phase. Some measures of effectiveness are easy, like social media followers and fans. But others are not easy to measure. Can you offer advise on how to benchmark the following:
• The number, strength and dedication of the brand's advocates.
• The number of business and community organizations engaged in branding the area— how can I keep track of or count these?
• The level of multi-organizational engagement – social media cooperation, imagery and message imbeds links, etc.
• The depth of brand integration in the community
• Perception studies — I don't have budget for this. Any ideas on how to measure perception on the cheap?

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 6/10/2013 at 12:11 PM Member
    I want to ask a few questions in response first:

    What do social media followers mean to you?
    What are a brand's advocates? Where do they appear in your sales funnel before they become a purchaser or repeat purchaser?

    I ask this because this kind of marketing makes little sense to me. It is presenting yourself in a passive manner, that is to say, you aren't focusing on the things your customers (or prospects) need or want of you. You are offering a shop window to all passers-by without any further thought as to what they may find interesting.

    The point is to ask the questions they find interesting and get them sorted before using media that is less easy to determine. Personally I use a combination of PPC/Display network advertising to fine-tune an approach before going into more expensive media channels like print or postcards.

    Just my 2cts.
  • Posted by sandysmith on 6/10/2013 at 3:49 PM Author
    Thanks for your response, but I didn't ask for validation of place branding. I have been given this task and simply asked for advise on how to proceed.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 6/10/2013 at 7:22 PM Accepted
    "Some measures of effectiveness are easy, like social media followers and fans." This is a huge red flag I'm afraid. To move forward you need to first outline expectations against what is deliverable within a set time frame and for a specific amount of money.

    If you measure anything "on the cheap" you may only get what you pay for.

    You need to be clear on how you will measure the "strength and dedication of the brand's advocates". You also need to be clear on how branding works.

    As for "the number of business and community organizations engaged in branding the area" ... how BIG is this area? How aligned are these businesses with one primary goal? Until you know the answer to these questions you have nothing to count, let alone track.

    As for "The level of multi-organizational engagement – social media cooperation, imagery and message imbeds links, etc" ... the only thing I can suggest you do here is stop. Now. Stop.

    Engagement is not something that simply falls off a tree. It is PART of a complex system. Engagement is not the be all and end all of social media, or of branding and the sooner this nonsensical notion dies in the marketplace the better. There are lots of other factors that MUST be in place before any engagement happens.

    The PENETRATION of brand integration in the community will take time to happen and until then you'll have no depth to measure.
  • Posted by Moriarty on 6/11/2013 at 2:51 AM Member
    The reason for asking those questions was to identify what your perceptions of the problem were. That you have been given a task does not mean that it is easy to accomplish in the terms it has been framed in.

    Gary says it all: "Engagement is not something that simply falls off a tree. It is PART of a complex system." As I mentioned, there are ways to measure such things as "engagement" at a level that is measurable - and would have meaning when extended outward. All I wanted to know was whether you possessed the insight necessary to implement them to any effect.

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