Understanding the global competition to better prepare for the future.

Situation

In a tough industry during tough economies, Alcoa wanted make sure that its brand was strong enough to weather any storm. They wanted actionable information about the strength and health of their brand relative to competitors, on a global basis. They asked CoreBrand to develop a measurement program to help them understand the image and reputation of the Alcoa brand relative to peers.

Solution

We first conducted a CoreBrand Analysis for Alcoa using our syndicated data in 2005. Armed with an understanding of the U.S. market, leadership wanted to expand the measurement program to global markets for benchmarking and tracking purposes. Markets included Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and Europe (Hungary, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and England/UK). We captured perceptions of Alcoa’s reputation relative to peers among the business decision-maker audience. Benchmark and follow-up tracking wave were conducted.

Among direct competitors, Alcoa has a strong brand in the majority of defined regions. The challenge is to leverage its leadership position among direct competitors and develop into an elite brand on par with the aspirational brands in each region. Our recommendations included improving Alcoa’s brand drivers (familiarity and favorability) in order to position the company to compete more efficiently with aspirational peers. Furthermore, Alcoa should focus primarily on building familiarity while sustaining or growing favorability. Heightened awareness in each region will likely improve Alcoa’s brand performance. This learning provided the necessary insight for managing the Alcoa brand on a global basis while being able to address any local/regional needs.