When an iconic brand begins to fade, the decline is rarely dramatic. In iconic brands, financial performance often lags changes in cultural relevance and brand meaning. Revenue may hold steady. Market share may appear stable. Awareness remains high. Yet competitors begin shaping the future while the incumbent defends the past. For leadership teams, restoring an iconic brand is not a communications exercise. It is a strategic mandate.
I am occasionally asked which metric I consider best for tracking consumers. There’s no hesitation with my answer. It’s new home starts. Let me explain why. First, what is it? The metric of new home starts is exactly what it sounds like—it’s the number of privately-owned homes that began construction in a given period of time. (I prefer monthly.)
Recent brand news is full of brand value chatter. Chatter, not serious discussions. Why? Brand executives still seem disconnected from how customers perceive brand value. Consumers understand that value, not price alone, is the priority. Consumer-perceived value is based on the total brand experience relative to the total brand costs (price, time, and effort). Brand executives also misunderstand customers because they believe their brands have a specific segment, which is the “value customer.”
The most important component of long-term sustainable advantage for any firm, regardless of its size, is its ability to attract, retain, inspire, and grow talent. Talent is the sustainable advantage. It is talent and only talent that creates and/or preserves every other form of sustainable advantage, whether it be innovation, new ideas, or superior service.
Brands that lead today do three things exceptionally well. They create an emotional advantage that customers cannot get elsewhere. They establish a distinctive advantage that customers recognize as meaningfully different. They build a connective advantage that keeps the brand relevant over time. These are not communications outcomes. They are strategic decisions.
