Although several brand equity measures have been proposed in the literature, a comparative assessment of their characteristics and performances is lacking. This paper attempts to fill that gap. Combining survey data with real market data, it assesses two types of brand equity measure: customer mind-set measures (brand knowledge) and product-market performance measures (revenue premium). The results confirm that the customer mind-set measure captures cumulative brand-building effects better and offers diagnostic information. However, the revenue premium is found as a better choice for continuous tracking of brand equity because (a) it could reveal the true changes in brand equity; (b) it is a practical and convenient measure since its data requirements are readily available; and (c) it flags any change in brand-equity before the customer mind-set measure. Furthermore, the product-market performance measure is found to precede the customer mind-set. This study also conducts the first empirical test of the well-known brand value chain model on real market data. Finally, operationalising the customer mind-set measure on real market data for the first time, this study confirms that advertising and distribution are positively associated with brand-equity, while price promotion is negatively associated. By considering multiple measures, this study improves the robustness of the findings as well as addressing marketing accountability issues.
