Enhanced BAV Becomes WPP's Primary Brand Research Platform

Years ago, Young & Rubicam -- now part of WPP’s VMLY&R -- developed the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV), a consumer research platform used to assess brand equity, health, vitality and numerous other brand-related metrics. 

The agency worked with Columbia Business School, MIT, Dartmouth and the University of Washington to develop BAV and it currently works with other elite institutions including London Business School, Wharton Business School and the University of California. 

Now WPP is combining BAV with several other assets to create a single brand research and analytics platform at the holding company level for use by all of its agencies and specialist units. 

The enhanced platform, with its own new branding -- BAV@WPP -- launched this week. 

In a memo to staffers, CEO Mark Read described BAV as “the longest-running and largest consumer study of brands and brand equity in the world.” 

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It has been a WPP asset since the holding company bought Y&R in 2000 and it now contains 14 billion data points covering 57,000 brands worldwide. 

Read said in his memo that the enhanced BAV platform will replace BrandZ as the holding company’s brand analytics tool. “Focusing on BAV allows us to put greater resources and investment behind a single brand equity platform across WPP and aligns with our ongoing simplification of the company,” Read wrote. 

He asserted that BAV “is an important part of our strategy to power our creativity with the industry’s best data and insights. It will help us to win new business, develop existing client relationships and create truly informed thought leadership.” 

The company, Read noted has multiple seminars and training sessions for staff to make the most of all that BAV offers. “It should be the first place we all go to for insights for a new business opportunity or client strategy session,” he added.
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