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Pleskova.
Brand Equity Library
Theories, research papers, methodologies
A curated collection of seminal sources & research on customer-based brand equity (CBBE)
Brand as a Commercial Asset & Margin Defense
Tom Roach (2020)
The Brand: The Most Valuable Business Tool Ever Invented
Practical guidance for CMOs navigating boardroom conversations: an article where Tom Roach translates brand equity from abstract marketing notions into the pragmatic language of business, sustained profit, and pricing power. It clearly explains to CEOs and CFOs how building enduring mental capital drives long-term commercial value and significantly reduces overall company risk
The Birth of Brand Management
Neil H. McElroy (1931)
The Brand Man Memo (Procter & Gamble Internal Memorandum)
The seminal document that established modern brand management. A three-page internal memorandum that first defined autonomous, end-to-end brand accountability within an enterprise for the first time
For brand management practice, this memo remains the foundational starting point for the brand manager's profession itself: from consumer research to market share defense
The Anatomy of Customer-Based Brand Equity
Kevin Lane Keller (1993)
Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity
The seminal paper that shaped modern brand equity. In an industry where marketing tactics and formats shift constantly, this foundational work remains entirely timeless. It continues to define how brand equity is conceptualized, measured, and guarded
For strategic qualitative research, this paper remains the definitive starting point
The Strategic Marketing Process
Mark Ritson (2021)
Three axioms and three questions that summarise all of brand strategy
Defines the essential sequence of professional marketing management. Diagnosis (market research, segment discovery, cold reality) must precede Strategy (targeting, positioning, clear commercial objectives), which in turn directs Tactics (product, price, place, promotion). Jumping straight to creative execution or communication without market diagnosis is pure waste; disciplined marketing operates strictly in order
Psychological Mechanisms of Choice
Daniel Kahneman (2011)
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Explains the cognitive nature of consumer choice. Brand strength relies on the workings of System 1 (intuitive, automatic, emotional perception) — choice is driven not by weighing rational messages, but by instantaneous heuristics and mental associations built by the brand in advance. People rarely deliberate; they choose what feels instantly familiar and cognitively effortless
Foundations of Two-Speed Brand Strategy
Les Binet & Peter Field (2013, 2020)
Balancing Short- and Long-Term Effectiveness
A foundational econometric study grounded in decades of IPA data, demonstrating that sustained business profitability relies on balancing immediate sales activation with long-term mental brand capital
For periods of economic turbulence, Peter Field extends the framework by evaluating the 'Go Dark' risk, providing empirical evidence on why maintaining share of voice is the most economically justified path to defending and capturing market share
→ [Les Binet & Peter Field (2013) - Core IPA Research, The Long And The Short Of It]
→ [Peter Field (2020) — Advertising in a Recession: Long, Short, or Dark?]
Brand Identity Codes
Jenni Romaniuk (2018)
Building Distinctive Brand Assets
A work that elevates brand identity far beyond mere aesthetics, proving that beyond authentic meaning, a brand must be unmistakably recognized through its visual, sonic, and tactile cues
The Distinctive Asset Grid provides a practical framework to audit, strengthen, and protect distinctive brand assets
Professional Team Enablement
Mini MBA in Brand Management (Mark Ritson)
If you are looking for an educational program to build a shared methodological foundation across the marketing team, Mark Ritson’s course is the world’s leading simulation of the full brand management cycle: from market diagnosis to positioning, budgeting, and consistent execution
