Brand Evaluation Standards (BES) Project

ISO-ANSI-MASBIn 2013, the International Organization for Standards (ISO) established Technical Committee 289 to establish standards for branding, brand management and brand reporting. In 2016, MASB joined ANSI (American National Standards Institute) in order to represent the United States on ISO-TC289.

The U.S. is one of 12 participating countries on the committee, along with Austria, Barbados, Canada, France, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Mexico, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. An additional 23 countries are formally observing. SAC, the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China, currently serves as Secretariat.

New global standard ISO 20671 Brand Evaluation was unanimously approved and announced at the 2018 TC289 plenary meeting in Milan, Italy. MASB members participating included Bobby Calder of Northwestern University, TC289 Chair; David Haigh of Brand Finance, UK Head of Delegation; and MASB President/CEO Tony Pace, U.S. Head of Delegation.

Fifth Plenary Meeting of ISO/TC289, Milan, Italy, June 2018
Fifth Plenary Meeting of ISO/TC289 • Milan, Italy 2018

In 2023, ISO-TC289 published two new standards. ISO 20671-2, provides requirements for implementing and reporting brand evaluations as described in ISO 20671-1. It includes more details on the steps of conducting a brand evaluation, methods for determining the indicators for brand strength, and quantifying brand performance relative to competitors.

The second new standard, ISO 20671-3, addresses requirements and recommendations for brands related to geographical indications.

BES PROJECT UPDATES (MASB members only)