Distinctive Brand Assets
Distinctive Brand Assets explained
Unusual design is not yet an established brand cue. The association needs to develop and remain available. A new symbol may be suitable without people already recognising its sender. A long-used element may be familiar while also bringing competitors to mind.
Assess elements separately and together in their intended applications. Remove the brand name for an attribution task without accidentally letting other cues supply the answer. Record correct responses, confusion and absent attribution separately. State who was asked and under which conditions.
The assessment concerns perception and memory. It does not replace an intellectual property review. Recognition also does not automatically communicate a product benefit: people can recognise a brand without understanding why its offer matters to them.
The design task is concrete: select appropriate cues, maintain them across applications and examine actual attribution. Weigh the consequences before replacing established elements during a relaunch. Recognition alone does not establish additional sales impact.
Examples
Hypothetical application
A drinks brand assesses a packaging shape and recurring character separately. Respondents often attribute the character correctly but connect the shape to several suppliers. The team develops the design using these findings and then assesses the combination in its intended format.
Key Points
- Distinguish original design from learned attribution.
- Assess fame and uniqueness together.
- Record confusion separately from absent attribution.
- Recognition does not establish preference or legal protection.
Practical application
Inventory existing cues, assess brand and test promising elements in actual formats. Document fixed features, application flexibility and the next review.
Useful measures
Correct attribution
Share of correct brand responses in the defined sample and test setting.
Confusion
Other brands named for each element.
Application consistency
Attribution across relevant formats and contexts.
Common mistakes
- Confusing novelty with established recognition.
- Asking only existing customers or the internal team.
- Treating an association with a colour or shape as legal exclusivity.
Sources and context
- Ehrenberg-Bass Institute: Brands of Distinction
Context on learned brand cues and their fame and uniqueness.
- Ehrenberg-Bass Institute: Distinctive Asset Measurement
Research approach to attributing identity elements to brands; not evidence for a specific DM project.
Frequently Asked Questions about Distinctive Brand Assets
No. A logo is an intended recognition cue. How well people actually attribute it to the brand is an empirical question.
Fame concerns how widely a cue is linked to the brand in the buyer group studied. Uniqueness concerns how exclusive that connection is compared with other brands. Specific measures must fit the assessment.
They can change. Examine existing associations, the new task and the possible consequences of replacement. Existing design is not automatically untouchable.
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