Building brand power

Their insights offered a masterclass in how developing and managing brand power has become a strategic lever for business growth – particularly crucial in an age of price sensitivity, consumer distrust, and endless digital noise.

Brand power vs brand health vs brand equity

The session began by untangling terminology that's often used interchangeably in boardrooms. Brand health is like a medical check-up – a snapshot of how your brand is performing at this moment in time. Brand equity, however, accumulates over years – sticking with the medical analogy, it's like eating healthily and exercising consistently to build long-term resilience and the ability to bounce back from setbacks.

Brand power? That's the marketer's ability to influence consumer behaviour and achieve specific business outcomes. It manifests in three measurable ways: demand power (do people want me?), pricing power (am I worth my price tag?), and future power (do I have room to grow?).

The MDS framework – a brand building toolkit

At the heart of brand power lies the MDS framework – meaning, difference, and salience. These aren't sequential steps but mutually reinforcing puzzle pieces that work together depending on your strategic objectives.

Salience gets you noticed – it's how quickly your brand comes to mind. Meaning ensures relevance through both functional delivery and emotional connection ("I love my cell phone, but when it's not working, I hate it," as Stina memorably put it). Difference isn't just about looking distinct – 70% is about the impression you create and how you sound.

The magic happens when these elements work in harmony. As Stina explained, "You can't just be different – if you're just different, you're weird. You need to be different with relevance."

Real-world success stories that inspire

The conversation came alive with South African success stories. Checkers' remarkable rise from 27th to 17th in brand rankings showcased the power of amplifying difference through innovation. Their 60-minute delivery promise and simple rewards programme (now held by 50% of South Africans) set new category standards.

Capitec's journey demonstrated the opposite approach – starting with meaningful difference by disrupting banking norms, then building salience to grow from 25,000 to nearly 25 million clients.

Even established brands can utilise brand power strategically. PepsiCo's decision to launch Cheetos in South Africa leveraged existing international salience from digital exposure, while retiring the struggling Munchies brand and replacing it with Cheetos was a lesson in knowing when to renovate versus innovate.

Starting small but thinking big

For entrepreneurs and small businesses, the panellists offered practical wisdom. "Small brands grow mostly through distribution and by borrowing from big brands," Stina noted. The key is being crystal clear about who you're for – and who you're not for.

Vilosha's advice resonated with this: "Make sure few people love you and a lot of people like you." Start niche, serve your core audience brilliantly, and expand responsibly as resources allow. Future Life's journey from serving specific nutritional needs to building South Africa's most developed FMCG e-commerce subscription model exemplified this approach.

Navigating the generational challenge

How do brands stay relevant across generations without losing their soul? The answer lies in evolving execution while maintaining core positioning. Savanna's evolution with from Barry Hilton's dry humour in the 90s to partnering with contemporary comedians today, but sticking with the same tagline of “It’s dry, but you can drink it”, shows how brands can stay freshly consistent – Vilosha's term for maintaining a brand’s DNA while refreshing the expression.

The guests warned against constantly changing based on trends and instead recommended that marketers codify the brand positioning, identify the distinctive assets, and find new ways to engage while staying true to the brand essence.

The price promotion trap

One of the session's most sobering warnings concerned promotional strategy. Stina highlighted how constant discounting erodes brand power, using the toilet paper category as a cautionary tale – where consumers became trained to expect 18 rolls for R89.99, creating a race to the bottom that took years to escape.

"Price in itself is a signal of your quality," she emphasised. While promotions have their place, overuse destroys margins, erodes equity, and undermines pricing power.

Digital channels must be used in context

Addressing digital and social media – the guests stressed that each channel serves a different purpose and requires a tailored approach. A website remains the cornerstone for credibility and education. It's where consumers go to verify information – the source when people are actively searching for detailed information about your brand or business.

Social platforms like TikTok, however, demand an entirely different approach. People are there for entertainment, and you need to bring content. This distinction is crucial for effective brand building. While your website can house comprehensive product information, your TikTok presence needs to lead with entertainment value that aligns with why people are on the platform in the first place.

The key insight both guests shared is that successful brands understand these contextual differences and adapt their content accordingly. Each channel has a specific job to do in building brand power, and marketers must respect these roles rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach across platforms.

The business case for brand power

Perhaps most critically, both speakers emphasised that brand power isn't just marketing fluff – it drives hard business outcomes. It determines profit margins, market share, and price elasticity. It guides investment decisions like should you be spending your budget on awareness, product improvement, or differentiation?

Leading with learning

The discussion closed with advice that transcends brand building. Vilosha advocated for lifelong learning and "borrowing with pride" from other categories and markets. The goal isn't just to trade on equity built by previous marketers, but to build equity for future generations.

Stina's parting wisdom reinforced the strategic importance of brand power: "The brand doesn't only live in marketing. A brand is a company's biggest asset, and we need to talk business language and commercial impact when we're talking about brands, not just emotion and the fluffy stuff that the CFO and the CEO will screen out." Her message was clear – marketers must demonstrate how brand power drives measurable business value, making the case for investment in terms that resonate across the c-suite.

This nine-part series is designed to offer practical, real-world insight for marketers navigating complexity, career growth, and creative leadership. It reveals how South African marketers can lead the way by building capability, value and impact. To view the Marketing Masterclass series, visit Daily Maverick Events.