TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter focuses on the audit brandsphere block of the process for building and sustaining brands (see Figure 7.1). The chapter presents the five forces of the brandsphere as a basis for systematically analysing the factors that could enhance or impede brand success. The chapter goes through each of the brandsphere forces individually i.e. the corporation, distributors, customers, competitors and the macro-environment. It encourages managers to score 1 where the overall evaluation of the force is favourable for the brand and 0 when the force impedes brand progress. The procedure should enable the brand's team to consider how it could capitalize on opportunities, or protect the brand for the future.
As Chapter 6 indicated, breaking down the long-term objective into several shorter-term objectives will suggest ideas to the brand's team about potential brand strategies. However, in order then to consider how the brand might be developed to capitalize on such objectives, an audit is required of the forces that might enhance or impede the brand.
If you were asked to audit the key forces that enhance or impede brand performance, what factors would you focus on?
Discussion
No doubt you have identified many forces for example, changes in the economic environment, new technology on the horizon, and the likely introduction of new legislation. When first faced with this challenge on a brand strategy project, many issues...
