The third annual Breakaway Brands® valuation study

Using brands to drive business results
by Chelsea Greene

FORTUNE magazine, Landor Associates and Stern Stewart's BrandEconomics® recently published the third annual Top Ten Breakaway Brands list for 2007. Unlike other brand rankings, this study objectively measures return on sustained investment in brand in terms of both financial value and brand strength.

For the third year in a row, the Breakaway Brands® Valuation Study was featured in an article in the 12 November 2007 issue of FORTUNE magazine.

Quantitative consumer perception data, as measured by Young & Rubicam Brands' BrandAsset® Valuator, identifies the 10 brands in the U.S. that have achieved the greatest percentile increase in brand strength over a three-year period. We then calculate the financial value gained over the same period that can be directly attributed to brand. Finally, together with students from the Wake Forrest Babcock School of Business, we conduct in-depth qualitative analysis to identify which brand behaviors and smart marketing decisions can account for each brand's success.

The result is that rather than a static list, the Breakaway Brands Valuation Study is an annual treasure hunt to uncover the secrets behind 10 great marketing stories, and the lessons they can teach us about how to create and sustain brands that transform business.

As proves true each year, the 2007 Breakaway Brands list is dynamic and includes a number of pleasant surprises, spanning technology, retail, and food & beverage, and blurring the line between B2B and B2C.

Last year's study showed three trends driving the success of the top 10 brands: Trust, Community and Knowledge. In many cases this year's marketers are drawing on those same best practices in support of their brands and taking them to new levels of sophistication. They have also developed strategic tactics of their own. Unlike last year, however, the patterns observed among the brand behaviors seem to be two-tiered.


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