2015Year of the Goat

Y&R BAV® PRESENTS

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Y&R | BAV

年年有魚來

福

步步笙蓮開

福

February19th, 2015marks the start of the Year of the Goat.

The Chinese New Year honors centuries’ old traditions and myths and is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The color red is predominantly displayed as it symbolizes good fortune and joy. In the Chinese culture, each animal zodiac sign has different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. In honor of Chinese New Year, we used Y&R’s BrandAsset Valuator® (BAV®) –

our proprietary brand management tool and global database of consumer perceptions of brands – to explore what brands share the same characteristics as found in the Year of the Goat.

Examining zodiac signs can reveal traits and possible futures for people, just as BAV data can be used to discover new facets of a brand’s identity and its future potential.

THE BAV MODEL

Y&R | BAV

THE PILLARSDIFFERENTIATION a brand's unique meaning, dynamism, and energy

RELEVANCE how meaningful a brand is in the life of a customer

ESTEEM consumers' respect and regard for a brand

KNOWLEDGE the depth of understanding consumers have

The BAV model is based on four pillars of brand heatlh. By analyzing a brand’s performance on each pillar (derived by consumer responses), we can learn about the strength and future success of a brand.

Arrogant Authentic

Best Brand Carefree

Cares Customers Charming

Daring

Different

Distinctive

Down to Earth

Dynamic

Energetic

Friendly

Fun

Gaining In Popularity

Glamorous

Good Value

Healthy Helpful

High Performance

High Quality Independent

Innovative Intelligent

Kind Leader Obliging

Original Prestigious

Progressive

Reliable

Restrained

Rugged

Sensuous

Simple

Social

Socially Responsible

Straightforward

Stylish

Traditional

Trendy

Trustworthy

Unapproachable

Unique Up To Date

Upper Class Visionary

Worth More

BAV also measures brands on a set of 48 image and personality attributes based on how consumers perceive brands.

BAV uses this imagery to understand the “hows” and “whys” of brand equity and to help a brand determine the best positioning opportunities, as attributes can impact Differentiation, Relevance, or both.

Inspired by classic Chinese zodiac signs, we determined a “Year of the Goat” personality through the lens of BAV imagery.

“GOAT BRANDS”

Y&R | BAV

年年有魚來

福

步步笙蓮開

福

Though not as highly regarded as the Dragon or as flashy as the Tiger or Monkey, the Goat is simple, reliable, straightforward, kind, and charming.

For a brand this is an admirable profile, but one that has plenty of room to become more dynamic. “Goat brands” tend to be more Relevant than Differentiated because their attributes indicate they have meaning in our lives, but aren’t considered “irresistible.”

“Goat brands” are perceived as being easily substituted for another brand, i.e. “We’re out of paper towels,” not “Go pick up some Bounty.”

DIF REL

RELEVANCE > DIFFERENTIATION

Uniqueness has faded, price or convenience dominant reason to buy: commodity

BREAKAWAY GOAT

Y&R | BAV

A one-dimensional “Goat brand” like Lipton is seen as functional, but lacks emotional qualities. Lipton is seen as less Distinctive, Innovative, and Trendy compared to others in its category, with less Differentiation.

BAV shows us that Differentiation is the leading indicator of future financial growth. So what attributes can “Goat brands” embrace to drive their Differentiation?

Well, a brand like Disney has all the “Goat” attributes, but also delivers on forward-thinking traits making it more Differentiated. It’s ranked in the top one percent of brands seen as Visionary, Dynamic, Innovative, and Social, and top two percent of brands seen as Energetic, and Socially Responsible. Disney adds adventure to its already approachable brand making it one of the strongest brands in our culture.

年年有魚來

福

步步笙蓮開

福

THE BAV ZODIAC

Y&R | BAV

年年有魚來

福

步步笙蓮開

福

We used the same process of matching attributes to create a quick snapshot of the full Chinese zodiac.

MOUSE

OX

TIG

ER

PIG

DOG

ROOSTER

MONKEY

GOAT

HORSESNAKE

DRAG

ON

RABBIT

MOUSE friendly, simple

PIG good value, independent

DOG social, energetic

ROOSTER

TIGER

RABBIT

DRAGON

SNAKE

HORSE

GOAT

MONKEY

dynamic, high performance

daring, sensuous

stylish, trendy

reliable, charming

prestigious, innovative

authentic, leader

distinctive, rugged

obliging, helpful

OX straightforward, down to earth

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BAV takes a deep dive into a brand's personality by understanding how consumers perceive the brand in our culture. This allows Y&R to strategically diagnose and build compelling brands – positioning them for growth and financial success.