How marketers can drive brand growth

Meaningful differentiation is deemed crucial for strong consumer-brand connections and pricing power.

Reaching a broader audience, optimising brand presence, and fostering innovation are key strategies for brand growth, according to Kantar.

In its "Blueprint for Brand Growth," which analyses over 6.5 billion global attitudinal and shopper data points from the past decade, Kantar identified the first strategy as "Predispose More People." This involves leveraging creativity, advertising, and enhanced consumer experiences to reach a wider audience.

The report said that brands adopting this approach enjoy nine times higher volume share, twice the average selling price, and a fourfold likelihood of future share growth.

The second strategy, "Be More Present," emphasises optimising various facets of brand presence in the market. This includes refining distribution channels, enhancing customer journeys, diversifying product ranges, optimising packaging, fine-tuning pricing strategies, and orchestrating effective promotional campaigns. 

It noted that brands that excel in this aspect witness a sevenfold increase in consumer engagement, propelling them towards unprecedented growth trajectories.

Lastly, Kantar pointed out the importance of "Finding New Space" through relentless innovation. 

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The report said that brands that continuously innovate experience a doubling of growth likelihood, with even a modest 10% increase in usage occasions resulting in a 17% revenue growth.

Whilst market penetration growth remains crucial, Kantar warned against fixating solely on this metric. Instead, the blueprint emphasises the significance of meaningful differentiation in fostering robust consumer-brand connections and fortifying pricing power.

"Every marketing leader can use this framework to evaluate their brand's own competitive positioning and then shape their strategic response and marketing investment priorities,” said  Jane Ostler, Kantar's EVP of Thought Leadership and Blueprint project lead.

“Among other elements, we see that emotional connections in advertising are crucial. When optimised, they build differentiation and predispose consumers toward a brand, boosting sales and loyalty.”