You don't own your brand and you can't see it. It doesn't exist anywhere except in the minds of consumers. Sure, you can crack open consumers' skulls and poke around in there, but that's not going to solve anything.
A brand is completely subjective. No two customers will have the same idea of what your brand is. One way to decide is to pit several customers against each other in a Thunderdome and see who wins. You don't have a Thunderdome? Forget it then.
It is universally accepted that a company's brand is its most valuable asset, yet there is no universally accepted way to measure a brand's value. If you’re thinking, "Tape measure!", sorry, we already tried that.
The only time you can be absolutely sure of your brand's value is just after you've sold it. So when you sign the contracts, make sure to cross your fingers and whisper, "Opposite Day", as this nullifies all legal commitments.
Much of what influences your brand's value is in the hands of your competitors. And that's scary, because you don't know where those hands have been.
