Brand Perception · The identity–image gap · Component
The comparison
Stated identity against unprompted image, side by side — word for word where possible, because paraphrasing on either side hides the gap.
The deliverable
What it is
The comparison is mechanical once both sides exist, which is why it should be done as a step rather than as a judgement.
It runs in two directions. What the organisation says and nobody returns is one finding; what the market returns and the organisation never said is a different and usually more interesting one.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The stated
What the organisation says it stands for.
3 attributes: Stated attribute · From · Priority
LearnThe returned
What the market actually says, unprompted.
3 attributes: Returned attribute · Mention rate · From
LearnThe distance
What is claimed and not returned, and returned and not claimed.
3 attributes: Direction · Size · Priority
Learn
Coding the market’s words into your own categories is the most common way a perception gap disappears before anyone sees it.
The other components in the identity–image gap
The diagnosis
Whether the message was unheard, heard and disbelieved, or accurate and unwelcome — three findings that look identical in the data.
LearnThe priority gaps
The misperceptions that affect what people actually do — because not every gap is worth closing and most are not.
Learn