Why Brand Equity Studies Matter More Than Ever in 2025

The Brand Equity methodology is a top performer here at Lab42 in more ways than one, it is one of the studies we conduct most frequently, and it provides an unparalleled level of insight for our clients.

A Brand Equity study is used to evaluate the weight and reputation of your brand among category consumers. This is done by assessing brand awareness, usage, perceptions and customer loyalty for multiple brands in the category to paint a more complete picture of your brand and competitors.

The market landscape in 2025 is tougher on brands than ever before with increased competition, shifting consumer behaviors, and economic uncertainty. Knowing where your brand stands in the market is more important today than ever and the best way to assess that is through a Brand Equity.

The Evolving Consumer Mindset

Across categories we are seeing a rise in values-driven purchasing, consumers are expecting more from the brands they purchase. Things like sustainability, ethics, and social impact are moving up in their importance for consumers and we are also seeing an increase in consumer skepticism furthering their need to trust the brands they buy. While we know consumer behaviors are changing, it takes research to know how that can impact your brand.

In addition to shifting consumer attitudes, the changes in the market itself are influencing purchasing behaviors. We are seeing the impact of inflation on product costs in most categories, and with these increases more consumers are looking for better value in what they buy than ever.

Also impacting consumers are looming tariffs and the uncertainty they bring to the economy. We are hearing that consumers may be delaying larger purchases or adjusting their buying behaviors overall. Though, without conducting research, particularly a brand equity study, there is no way for you to know how these market trends are impacting your target consumer.

How Brand Equity Can Help

The question becomes, can you afford to be guessing what consumers think of your brand? In addition to standard key metrics like awareness, usage, satisfaction, and NPS a Brand Equity digs deeper into brand perceptions within the category.

Using a Brand Equity can help impact customer loyalty by letting you know what is actually of highest importance to your consumers, and more importantly how you and your competitors are performing on those metrics.

When you know what is most important to consumers, and how you stack up you can make more informed decisions to refine brand strategy moving forward, as well as optimize marketing efforts. When you have all this information at your fingertips you’re able to be make quick, more informed decisions and react faster to consumer needs.

Conclusion

Brand perception and reputation is more important than ever in todays market, with that we are encouraging brands invest in Brand Equity studies in hopes to future-proof their brand. In order to make meaningful changes in the future, you need to know where you stand now.

If you’d like to learn more about our Brand Equity methodology here at Lab42, reach out to our research team at research@lab42.com.