“Branding? That’s just fancy logos and wasteful ad spend. Show me how it impacts our bottom line.” 

“Those were the exact words from my CEO during our  marketing review  last quarter.” My bestie was venting over coffee last weekend. As CMO, she tried to stand her ground, explaining the 95-5 rule, harping about “increased visibility” and “market positioning,” but without concrete metrics, her branding budget was slashed by 70%.

This scenario plays out in boardrooms everywhere. While product marketing can point to conversion rates and sales enablement has revenue influence, brand builders often struggle to defend their budgets against the dreaded question: “How do we know any of this actually works?”

The value is undeniable—but only if you can measure it.

How do you transform brand awareness from a nebulous concept into a measurable, revenue-linked asset that even the most skeptical CEO can’t ignore?

Why CEOs Dismiss Branding 

The typical CEO skepticism toward branding stems from three core beliefs:

Belief #1: “Brand value can’t be measured.” Many executives assume brand impact exists in an unmeasurable realm of feelings and perceptions. This is mainly because traditional methods like awareness surveys have provided limited insights. 

Belief #2: “Branding is just creative fluff.” Some leaders see branding as “artistic” creativity with little or no  informed decision making behind it. But this perspective misses how branding creates meaningful differentiation that prevents commoditization.

Belief #3: “Brand investments take too long to pay off.” 

With investor calls looming every 90 days, CEOs obsess over this quarter’s opportunities while inadvertently creating a drought in next year’s pipeline. Yet research shows  that while short-term activation campaigns deliver quick sales spikes, brand-building campaigns generate 2-3x greater profit impact over time. By slashing brand investments—the very activities that fill the top of your funnel with tomorrow’s customers—they’re essentially burning tomorrow’s seed corn to make today’s bread. 

Making the Brand-Revenue Connection Undeniable

Let’s make tracking brand awareness feel less like a chore and more like a breeze! Building a simplified brand health dashboard doesn’t have to take a ton of time or money. Here are some key data points to get you started.

Unaided Brand Recall & Brand Recognition

Ask your leads if/ where they have encountered your brand before. For instance, you could add a field on your enquiry forms asking ‘Where did you hear of us?’ Talk to your sales reps to understand if their prospects mention reading your latest report or signing up for your upcoming webinar. 

Share of Voice (SOV)

Share of Voice compares your brand’s “equity and popularity” with your competitors across a category. Measure how many mentions you get on social media  (tags, likes, shares, etc.) over a few months, and work on improving the score there. (You can even use listening tools like Meltwater or  Brandwatch)

Brand Sentiment

This qualitative metric measures whether people are talking about your brand in positive, negative, or neutral terms. Use social listening tools with sentiment analysis capabilities. Track changes in sentiment over time and especially pre and post key marketing campaigns 

Social Media Reach and Engagement

Track follower growth rates across social media platforms and measure the engagement rate (interaction/ impressions of your content) among your audience. Higher engagement and follower growth indicates a robust brand ( and likely a higher engagement to conversion rate).

Branded Search

Track branded search volume to understand how many people visiting your website landed there due to directly Googling your brand or product name. Monitor the monthly search trends in your Google Search Console and correlate with marketing activities.

Website Traffic 

Direct traffic—people who type your URL directly or use bookmarks—strongly indicates brand recognition and recall. Track direct traffic as a percentage of total site traffic in your Search Console, and measure trends against media investment. Additionally, check which accounts visit your website. Monitor to understand if your key account list is growing in size and engagement level.

Business Impact

Studies show that conversions from branded search traffic typically cost 50-70% less than non-branded search traffic and convert at 2-3x higher rates. Strong brands dramatically reduce customer acquisition costs by increasing marketing effectiveness. Track CAC trends and lead velocity on your brand health dashboard. As your brand metrics improve, you should find your sales cycle considerably shorter, simpler and more cost effective.

Talent Acquisition and Retention Impact

Often overlooked by CEOs, brand strength dramatically affects recruitment costs and employee retention. Track applicant quality, turnover rate and average cost per hire before and after your brand campaigns.

Does your company view “brand building” as intangible concepts you can’t really track? That is an outdated perspective. But smart marketing folks today have a real opportunity – and honestly, a responsibility – to show exactly how investing in your brand actually boosts the bottom line.

By setting up clear ways to measure, linking brand health directly to business results, and focusing on brand-building that actually delivers returns, you can flip the script. Instead of constantly justifying brand spend, you’ll be hearing, “Hey, why aren’t we putting more into this?”