Custom vs. Syndicated Brand Tracking: Which is Right for You?

Custom Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Custom tracking offers the ability to dive deep into specific aspects of your brand’s performance. You can focus on unique attributes, niche markets, and tailor the research to uncover insights that are directly relevant to your brand’s strategic goals.
• Challenges: While custom tracking provides rich insights, it can be more time-consuming and resource-intensive to design and implement.

Syndicated Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Syndicated tracking gives you a broad overview of your brand’s performance within your industry, making it easy to compare your brand against competitors. It’s particularly useful for identifying general trends and benchmarking.
• Challenges: The insights from syndicated tracking may be less specific and may not address the unique aspects of your brand, limiting their usefulness for targeted strategic decisions.

Custom Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: The flexibility of custom tracking allows you to adapt the research focus, add or remove metrics, and modify the study as needed. This ensures that the tracking remains aligned with your brand’s evolving strategy.
• Challenges: The process of customisation can be complex and may require significant time and expertise to ensure the study accurately reflects your brand’s needs.

Syndicated Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: With syndicated tracking, the process is straightforward and doesn’t require much customisation, making it easier to manage. This can be beneficial for brands that need quick insights without the need for extensive adjustments.
• Challenges: The lack of flexibility means that syndicated tracking may not fully align with your brand’s specific objectives, potentially leaving important gaps in the data.

Custom Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Custom brand tracking is an investment in precision and relevance. The higher upfront cost is justified by the tailored insights that directly address your brand’s unique challenges and opportunities. This approach can ultimately lead to a higher return on investment (ROI) as it provides actionable data that can significantly impact your brand strategy.
• Challenges: Custom tracking tends to be more expensive due to the bespoke nature of the research design, data collection, and analysis. The cost is higher because you are paying for a solution that is specifically built to meet your brand’s needs, which may include specialised metrics, targeted consumer segments, and customised reporting.

Syndicated Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Syndicated tracking is generally more cost-effective because the expenses are distributed across multiple brands participating in the same study. This shared-cost structure makes it an attractive option for brands with limited budgets or those seeking broad, industry-wide insights without the need for deep customisation.
• Challenges: While the lower cost is appealing, the broad, standardised nature of syndicated tracking may not provide the level of detail necessary to inform specific strategic decisions. The generic insights might not be as directly applicable to your brand, which could limit the effectiveness of your overall strategy.

Custom Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Custom brand tracking is designed specifically for your brand, which means that the research process starts from the ground up. While this ensures that the study is perfectly aligned with your objectives, it also means that the design and implementation process takes longer. This approach is ideal for brands that have the time and resources to invest in developing a highly tailored tracking solution.
• Challenges: The customisation process can be time-consuming, involving detailed consultations, the development of unique metrics, and potentially longer data collection periods. If your brand requires immediate insights, the extended timeline could be a drawback.

Syndicated Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: The pre-packaged nature of syndicated brand tracking allows for rapid deployment. Since the framework is already in place, you can quickly gain access to broad industry benchmarks and insights. This speed is particularly beneficial for brands that need to make quick decisions based on current market conditions.
• Challenges: The trade-off for speed is often a lack of specificity. While syndicated tracking provides quick access to data, the insights may not be as relevant or actionable for your brand’s particular needs. If the data doesn’t align well with your strategic goals, the quick implementation may not deliver the desired results.

Custom Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Custom tracking is aligned with your brand’s specific strategic objectives. By focusing on the exact metrics that matter most to your brand, this approach ensures that the insights you gain are directly applicable to your strategic planning. Over the long term, custom tracking can help you refine your brand positioning, build stronger consumer connections, and drive sustainable growth.
• Challenges: The complexity and cost of custom tracking may be a barrier for some brands, particularly smaller businesses or those with limited resources. However, the long-term benefits often outweigh the initial investment, especially for brands looking to develop a deep, strategic understanding of their market position.

Syndicated Brand Tracking:

• Advantages: Syndicated tracking provides a broad overview of your brand’s performance relative to competitors. This can be valuable for benchmarking and understanding your brand’s place within the industry. It’s a useful tool for identifying general trends and ensuring that your brand stays aligned with broader market movements.
• Challenges: While syndicated tracking offers valuable benchmarks, it may not provide the depth of insight needed to drive long-term strategic change. The standardised nature of the data means that it might not fully capture the nuances of your brand, which could limit its usefulness for detailed strategic planning.