Insights from 6.5 Billion Data Points for Brand Growth

Navigating the uncertainties of a cookieless future, the role of AI, and economic challenges is a constant for marketing leaders. Amidst these upheavals, the core question remains: “How can I maximize my brand's impact?” Advanced analytics are paving new paths to answer this.

To enhance our client advice and unify our understanding of brand growth, Kantar conducted a year-long research project, analyzing over 6.5 billion attitudinal and shopper data points from the past decade. This extensive project, a first in Kantar's history, forms the basis for our Blueprint for Brand Growth, a new quantitative decision-making framework launched this month.

What insights did we gain from this intensive data analysis?

We quantified that brand perception strongly correlates with market penetration, defined as the share of category shoppers choosing a brand over time. Our Meaningful, Different, and Salient (MDS) framework, accredited by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), emphasizes that difference—not just distinctiveness—is key to creating strong mental connections between consumers and brands. Our new analysis shows that brands perceived as meaningfully different achieve up to five times more market penetration than those with low meaningful difference. Additionally, brands with high meaningful difference can command up to twice the average category price point, making meaningful differentiation crucial for defending margins.

The Blueprint expands on existing research on brand growth. Our evidence reveals that while increasing market penetration is necessary, it alone is insufficient for sustainable brand and revenue growth. We identified three Growth Accelerators that are essential for applying these principles. These may be familiar to marketers, but now they are supported by quantifiable evidence of their impact on brand and revenue growth:

1. **Predispose More People**

   Increase the likelihood of purchase by strengthening consumer predisposition towards your brand. Optimally executed, this can drive nine times higher volume share, double the average selling price, and quadruple the likelihood of future share growth.

2. **Be More Present**

   Optimize marketing investments to convert consumer predisposition and capture choices from competitors. Brands with strong equity and effective activation grow at 2.5 times the rate of those with weaker activation.

3. **Find New Spaces**

   Identify incremental opportunities through meaningful innovation, expanded distribution, and strategic communications. A brand’s growth potential doubles if it can find new moments or contexts for its range.

How are these new marketing rules useful for marketers? The Blueprint offers an evidence-based approach for brand growth and practical decision-making frameworks for maximum impact.

While these Growth Accelerators are universal, each brand must understand its positioning and use these frameworks to devise strategic responses suitable for its category. The Blueprint helps marketers prioritize innovation, creative and media strategies, and retail optimization to drive profitable growth.