investor branding: 10 critical success factors for investor branding

A recent article in the Washington Post highlights how major investors are turning onto the power of brands as investments. These so-called “brand investors” are putting their money behind brands for many of the same reasons that marketers look to develop brands in the first place.

What’s important here though, from a branding point of view, is the thought that it’s good enough for major investors like Warren Buffett to be looking for brands to invest in, then it makes equal sense for the brands themselves to be marketing their investability to potential stakeholders.

Investor branding is a hybrid of the disciplines and story-telling techniques of branding and investor disclosure.

Unlike product brands, investor brands address analysts, brokers and members of the investment and financial communities, not consumers. And their focus is not on the brand as a marketing force but rather its power in investment terms.

What follows are 10 aspects of the investor branding story that every brand should look to tell would-be investors:

1. Current market – size, value, market position, market dynamics, customer loyalty


2. Potential market – extension and expansion opportunities and value


3. Market trends – the opportunities and threats inherent in the macro environment


4. Competitiveness – how and why this brand is popular and how it intends achieving further attractiveness


5. Stability – how the brand is managed, distributed, licensed and the consistency and longevity of sales and earnings


6. Management – the credibility and track record of the people making the decisions about the brand, and the values and culture of the owner organisation


7. Risk profile – the brand’s volatility in terms of valuation but also in terms of customer and industry favour


8. Role in portfolio – why and where an investor might include this brand in a portfolio


9. Growth forecasts – how the brand will grow its market presence, its bottom line value and its margins


10. CSR – how the brand is positioned in terms of its levels of social responsibility, in particular how well the brand strengthens its reputation using CSR and how it controls long term social liability.

Buffett summed up his propensity for investing in household name brands. Commenting on the Wrigleys-Mars deal, he said: "Really, nothing can go wrong with the Wrigley and Mars brands. They have faced the test of time over decades and decades, and people use more and more of their products every day."

How strong is your brand’s investment case?