Making a direct link between communications spend and brand reputation.

Situation

Union Pacific, a rail transportation company with the largest geographic coverage in the United States, had been struggling as a business-to-business brand in an industry largely perceived as a commodity — shipping materials from point A to point B. Within the company, there was some belief that the only way to improve financial performance was to reduce costs. Seeking alternative solutions, the brand team came to us to help them demonstrate how the Union Pacific brand could be the company’s best asset — a powerful tool to help improve business results.

Solution

By utilizing our proprietary CoreBrand Analysis measurement model, we could assess the brand’s reputation (its Familiarity and Favorability ratings — Union Pacific’s Brand Power) against its communications spending. Our analysis showed that within a 4-year period, Union Pacific Brand Power had declined nearly 25%. Over that same period, there was very little communications support for the brand.

In an attempt to halt the slow decline and revitalize the brand, Union Pacific launched a new communications effort, the “Building America” campaign. A benchmark study was completed shortly thereafter, with a plan for continued measurement of the brand’s movement, relative to the new campaign. The studies would accomplish two things: track Union Pacific’s performance vs. direct peers in the transportation industry; and monitor the impact of the communications effort — not only on the Familiarity and Favorability of the brand, but on the financial success of the company.

Our consistent tracking of the Union Pacific brand makes it clear that communications spend had a direct impact on the brand’s Familiarity and Favorability, as well as its bottom line. Tracking provides management with the opportunity to monitor the brand against yearly objectives and goals, and the ability to respond to the changing marketplace.