Methodology · Benchmarking
How the Perceived Brand Key is calculated
Method version perceived-v1 · Last updated
In short
The perceived Brand Key describes how customers and observers see a brand, in the nine fields of a Brand Key: root strengths, competitive environment, target, insight, benefits, values and personality, reasons to believe, discriminator and essence. Claude writes it from third-party sources found with web search — reviews, news, comparison and consumer sites and forums — while the brand's own websites and employer review sites are excluded.
Formula
Nine fields, each one or two sentences; essence in at most five words; sources listed per brand
How it is calculated, step by step
- Search the web for third-party sources about the brand, excluding every domain run by the brand and employer review sites.
- Summarise what customers and observers praise, criticise and associate with the brand, with citations.
- Fill the nine Brand Key fields from that summary only; mixed or negative perceptions are stated as such.
What goes into it
- Third-party sources
- Up to 12 cited sources per brand.
Data sources
- Claude (Anthropic) with web search
How often it is updated
On demand (Update perceived).
How to read it
- Compare the perceived Brand Key with your intended one: the gaps are your positioning work.
Limitations
- Review sites over-represent unhappy customers; read the sources behind each field.
Frequently asked questions
Why exclude the brand's own website?
The perceived Brand Key is the outside view; the brand's own claims belong in the intended Brand Key.
Related
- Share of conversation (online mentions) — Your share of the online mentions of all tracked brands in the last 30 days, on websites, blogs, forums and news sites in your market, with sentiment.