Building Consumer Brand Equity in Competitive Markets
If you’ve watched customers line up overnight for a limited-edition product drop, you’ve seen brand equity in action. Stanley’s viral 40-oz tumbler, for example, fueled a 751% year-over-year increase in sales thanks to the loyalty and excitement the brand built through cultural relevance and community engagement, not because the product was functionally superior. This is the power of consumer brand equity: the intangible value that makes buyers choose you over the competition, even when cheaper or similar alternatives exist.