The ISO (International Organization for Standardization), recognized leader in setting international industry standards, brought together standards boards from around the world to publish ISO 20671, a global standard for brand evaluation designed to grow brand-owner value.
As brands are too often treated as incidental business expenses, the new standard calls for brands to be proactively managed and measured at least annually “to increase entity value as established by improvements in brand strength and brand performance and ultimately indicators of financial results.” The standard applies to both internal and external brand evaluations, including those done by analysts, investors and lenders.
While the ISO has published international standards covering almost every industry, this is only the second standard directed at brand owners. The first, ISO 10668, specifies a framework for brand valuation which is incorporated into this brand evaluation standard.
According to MASB, the standard is especially relevant for marketers who have been called upon by investors for greater accountability. ISO 20671 “constitutes a basis or departure point for high-level corporate planning and governance, including best practices for brand management.”
“Accountable marketers should love ISO 20671 because to be in compliance, they will have to value their brands regularly,” says MASB President/CEO Tony Pace. “That will be marketers’ Golden Ticket – not only to fund measurable brand value growth initiatives but also to measure the marketing contribution to enterprise value.”
Applying ISO 20671 “creates a feedback loop for the continuous improvement of a brand that leads to greater value for the entity over time. By investing (changing the composition and level of brand input elements) based on such feedback, brands can be improved to provide greater benefits and better experiences to customers and other stakeholders and higher returns on the brand asset to the entities which use and own the brand.”
ISO Technical Committee 289, which developed the new standard, is chaired by Bobby Calder, Kellstadt professor of marketing in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “The marketing accountability movement has achieved an important milestone and increased its momentum with the unanimous passage of ISO 20671,” he said.
MASB represents the U.S. under the auspices of ANSI, the American National Standards Institute. SAC, the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China, serves as Secretariat. TC289’s other participating member countries include Austria, Barbados, Canada, France, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Mexico, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. There are also 26 observing members.
To help facilitate adoption of the standard, MASB is offering virtual debriefing sessions for brand owners. To request one, contact [email protected]. For more information, visit themasb.org.