Four bases to successful brand strategy in 2022 and beyond

The game has changed for SMBs trying to scale growth today. There is no single straightforward path to wide retail distribution. The 2022 Brand Balancing Act highlights which consumers present the greatest opportunities and how to connect with what matters to them.

NielsenIQ has developed a framework around the strategic playing field for smaller brands to scale growth. Amid supply chain challenges, inflationary pressures, and cautious consumer spending intentions, brands need to orient their strategies around four key insight bases: consumer brand preferences, performance benchmarking, trend-cycle timing, and meaningful differentiation.

Successful brands today are those that take each of these baseline considerations to heart in order to implement a brand strategy that wins with consumers.

In this report you’ll find:

• A deep dive into understanding brand buyers across the spectrum of consumer brand preferences
• The reshuffled deck of manufacturers globally, assessing where SMB’s have outperformed, and where growth has favored big brands
• The emerging trend-setting mentalities of consumers with our focus on niche vs. mainstream trend-cycle timing
• How brands can meaningfully differentiate themselves from their competition