CMOs face increasing pressure to deliver precise, efficient growth, yet resources are often spread across competing priorities.
Kantar BrandZ’s Chief Marketing Objectives approach pinpoints your brand’s single most important priority, helping you direct investment where it will drive the greatest commercial impact.
Grounded in the Blueprint for Brand Growth and 20 years of BrandZ evidence, it delivers clear, strategic intelligence to strengthen performance and unlock growth.
How it works
• Built on analysis of 22,000+ brands across categories and markets
• Anchored in Kantar’s MASB validated Meaningful, Different and Salient framework
• Segments brands into ten distinct groups based on shared equity challenges
• Each group is defined by a single priority most likely to unlock growth
• Enables deeper diagnosis across markets, categories, and portfolios
BrandZ’s Chief Marketing Objectives approach follow a clear growth journey. It begins by identifying brands that lack Difference, before assessing those that need to strengthen their Meaningful connection with consumers.
From there, the approach highlights other critical priorities, such as pricing justification, building salience and being more present in the market. It identifies brands that need to regain momentum, as well as smaller brands with the opportunity to challenge category leaders.
Finally, it surfaces brands ready to unlock their next phase of growth by finding new space.
Brands can move between objectives as markets shift, competition intensifies and strategies evolve. The value for CMOs is clarity: at any given moment, you know where to focus to maximise growth.
The world’s most valuable brands have built their strength by mastering multiple growth objectives over time. Today, they are more likely to grow by finding new space, across adjacent categories or new markets.
BrandZ shows challenges vary by sector:
• B2B brands often need to build stronger meaningful connections
• Services have more small challenger brands that need to build demand
• Infrequently purchased brands struggle to establish a clear sense of difference
• FMCG brands often need to focus on finding new space
• Private label brands are constrained by weak perceived difference
Being single-minded in your marketing strategy delivers clear commercial impact. BrandZ analysis shows that brands which achieve their chief marketing objective within two years are 1.6 times more likely to grow penetration - a 60% greater chance of driving volume growth.
In today’s complex environment, clarity is a competitive advantage. Identifying your chief marketing objective helps you focus investment where it delivers the greatest return, align teams around a single priority and act with speed and confidence.
McDonald’s shows how strong brands use strategic intelligence to focus on the right chief marketing objective. During the pandemic, it prioritised staying Meaningful, by expanding delivery, enhancing loyalty programmes and launching initiatives like ‘adult Happy Meals’.
As rising food costs impacted affordability in 2024, the brand shifted to supporting price perception, introducing targeted value platforms such as the $5 meal deal.
Understanding the single biggest obstacle holding your brand back gives you the strategic intelligence to shape your marketing plans.
Explore the signals, decisions and strategies driving brand growth.
BrandZ's Chief Marketing Objectives approach identifies the single most important strategic priority a brand should focus on to unlock growth, using Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth and BrandZ data to pinpoint the biggest barrier or opportunity facing a brand.
Why does identifying a chief marketing objective matter?
Focusing on the right objective ensures resources are directed where they will have the greatest commercial impact. BrandZ analysis shows that brands that achieve their Chief Marketing Objective are 1.6x more likely to grow penetration.
How is a chief marketing objective identified?
It is determined through analysis of brand equity across a range of metrics, relative to competitors within the category context. This approach combines proven frameworks with signal intelligence to identify the single biggest growth opportunity for each brand.
Can a brand have more than one objective at a time?
While brands may face multiple challenges, the framework prioritises one key objective at a time. This focus improves effectiveness and increases the likelihood of delivering measurable growth.
Do brands follow the same path through the objectives?
No. While the objectives are structured as a journey, brands do not progress in a strictly linear way. They may need to revisit earlier priorities as markets shift or performance changes.
BrandZ's Chief Marketing Objectives approach tackles a range of growth barriers, including weak perceived difference, lack of meaningful consumer connection, difficulty justifying price, low salience or visibility.
How do BrandZ's Chief Marketing Objectives link to brand growth?
Each objective is designed to resolve a specific constraint on growth. By addressing the most critical barrier first, brands can unlock stronger demand, improve pricing power, and accelerate penetration.
How often should brands reassess their objective?
Brands should review their priority regularly. Shifts in competition, consumer behaviour or market conditions can change what matters most, making ongoing diagnosis essential.
What do the most successful brands do differently?
The world’s most valuable brands have typically mastered multiple objectives over time. Having built strong foundations, they are more likely to focus on finding new space to sustain growth.