Brand research is essential to know where your brand stands among the competition

In the ever changing construction market everyone wants to be ahead of their competition. However, when clients have too many options to choose from, being noticed is more difficult. One way to stand out is to provide excellent quality to clients. Through usage, professionals will notice quality and recommend your brand to their colleagues, resulting in more business and a higher turnover. But how do you know whether your brand is perceived as a quality brand? And how do you know where your brand stands compared to the competition?

By Jeroen de Gruijl
11 Nov 2020
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In order to have a clear overview of the perception of your brand, a ‘brand awareness’ study is needed. This type of research is essential to successfully introduce, maintain and grow a brand in the market, and increase the long-term profitability of the brand. To know whether strategies based on brand research are working, a follow-up study provides insights not only in the development of brand position, but also in the reasons why that development happens. The European Architectural Barometer “Brand Health Scan” reports of Q1 2017 and Q3 2020 give insights in the position of brands in several different product groups. Here follows a recap of the 2017 results. 

Wienerberger, Knauf Insulation and Saint-Gobain were European brand leaders in 2017

In the Q1 2017 of European Architectural Barometer, the focus was on brand research in several applications. Each country yields different results, but based on our 2017 research in 8 countries it is clear that strong brands in the industry across multiple countries in Europe are Wienerberger, Knauf and Saint-Gobain (including sub-brands as Celotex). 

European Architectural Barometer Q3 2020 - USP Marketing Consultancy

It is clear that many mentioned brands are suppliers of several building materials for several building parts. They offer a very broad range of materials and are therefore considered market leaders in construction. The differences between countries and applications are significant and they cannot be ignored. That is why it is interesting to take a closer look at different product categories.  

Strength of floor and wall tile brands differ strongly per country

Overall, Porcelanosa and Marazzi have a very strong position in the European market which is mainly due to their strong heritage in Southern Europe. The brands have been spontaneously mentioned by architects mainly in Spain, Italy and France. The most mentioned brands are also to a large extent the most preferred brands. Although these are leading brands in Southern Europe, regional coverage of suppliers plays an important role as other brands are perceived to be stronger in other countries. 

Results for floor and wall tiles from Q1 2017:

European Architectural Barometer Q3 2020 - USP Marketing Consultancy

Isover, Rockwool and Knauf are very dominant brands within the European insulation segment

Different than with floor and wall tile brands, the leading brands in the insulation market are quite similar across several markets. Isover, ROCKWOOL and Knauf are dominant brands and are active across many countries. All three brands have strong market presence in almost every European country which also means that the competition is very serious. 

Results for insulation from Q1 2017:

European Architectural Barometer Q3 2020 - USP Marketing Consultancy

Product categories included in the Q3 2020 Brand Health Scan

The Q3 2020 report is again focusing on the brand strength in several product categories. Categories that are included in 2020 and that were included in the 2017 measurement are: 

*based on N=1.539.