According to the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, the non-profit sector shows improvement in brand equity, despite some high profile missteps. Overall, the non-profit sector has continued to show improvement in brand equity among consumers since 2007. Girl Scouts of the USA is among several non-profit organizations that have demonstrated strong brand equity gains this year, a list which also includes American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, March of Dimes and Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Brand equity refers to the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Because of the well known brand name the company some time charges premium prices from the consumer. At the root of these marketing effects is consumers' knowledge. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only one.
Earlier this year, Rick Thompson at Customer Think placed the new Girl Scout brand identity at number two in his Top Five Brand Identity and Logo Changes in 2010. At Brand New - one of my personal favorites - the Girl Scout refresh came out with high marks as well.