In recent weeks, we looked at reputation, brand and brand value as variables that impact a company’s worth in the global marketplace. We reviewed the various brand ranking reports that determine and monetize the value of the biggest brands in the world annually, including Interbrand’s 100 Best, Brandz’s Top 100 and Credit Suisse’s Great Brands. Those annual lists use a myriad of criteria to assess each brand’s value.
However, there is now a new report that examines ‘Brand Social Currency’, rather than brand value. Is there a difference between brand value and brand social currency? Apparently so. Brand value is about determining the worth of a brand based on internal factors such as clarity, commitment, protection and responsiveness, and external factors such as authenticity, relevance, differentiation, consistency, presence, and understanding. It looks at a company’s financials, sales, marketing, operations and reputation to monetize a brand’s worth.
Brand social currency, on the other hand, focuses on the point at which a brand intersects with, speaks to and integrates with customers within their daily life. Due to the increasing social nature of the Internet and mobile technologies, consumers and customers adopt these technologies and platforms and integrate them into daily life routines and contexts, such as using a phone to identify the closest store that carries a desired product at the best possible price. In order to survive and thrive, companies are finding new ways to allow their brands to interact with customers. Those efforts, in short, are what build brand social currency. Continue reading