Brand power & strength forecasts for 2011
The banking industry is set to stabilise at last, healthcare companies face an uncertain future, and most consumers are focusing their spending on the basics, according to the latest CoreBrand Sector Outlook report.
The report, which is compiled from Corebrand's projections of key industry performance, was based on current and historic brand equity valuations and brand power measurements of some 800 US companies covering 49 industries.
Using this data, CoreBrand created regression models to define the corporate brand's role in stock performance, representing the average impact of the brand on market capitalisation for each industry.
According to Corebrand's CEO, Jim Gregory, the following are the current predictions and trends for six of the tracked industries' brand equity (based on figures from 2002 to 2010):
- Banking versus Brokerages Banking will stabilize. While the importance of brand has been declining for the banking industry it has been growing for the brokerage industry. I see this trend continuing until the financial crisis is truly behind us, when banks can get back to the business of banking rather than pandering to regulators.
- Medical suppliers, Pharmaceuticals & Pharmacy services There is still concern over the unknowns in healthcare reform. Turmoil related to the healthcare reform will translate to turmoil in related industries like healthcare devices and pharmaceuticals. The medical supplies and services industry has seen a decline in the importance of the corporate brand. Pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services are also declining. I do not see this improving significantly in the coming year.
- Beverages, Food & Toiletries Most consumers and businesses are focusing efforts on basics. This is seen in the solidity of consumer staples industries such as the food, which has been quite impressive. I guess even in The Great Recession people have to eat. The apparel/shoe industry has been strong and should remain so in the next year. I predict the same for the toiletries/cosmetics industry. The one area that has shown some weakness is the beverages industry, which has been declining steadily since 2005, probably due to over saturation of too many product brands.
- Motor vehicles Motor vehicles have had only slight declines despite the extreme instability in the industry. I see this industry improving as corporate brands become ever more important components to overall product branding strategies.
- Hotels & Entertainments versus Restuarants The hotel and entertainment industry as well as the restaurant industry have shown resilience throughout these turbulent times but I expect to see a decline in the strength of their corporate brands if the business economy doesn't rebound in a significant manner.
- Paper products versus Printing & Publishing Between the decline of the newspaper industry and the general trend toward green consciousness the paper/forest products industry has been hit hard. I see the pressure continuing on these industries and think it important for them to promote their corporate brand and let consumers know how they are helping the environment.
CoreBrand has tracked and analysed the brands of more than 800 public companies since 1990, demonstrating along the way that strategically designed branding efforts ultimately tend to drive better financial performance, and arguing that the brand is perhaps any company's most valuable asset.
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