Companies Are Stuck in a Brand Doom Loop

Eighty-four percent of companies are stuck in a "brand doom loop" that prevents marketing leaders from proving their brands' impact on enterprise growth, according to a survey by Gartner.

The brand doom loop occurs when companies underinvest in brand measurement, lack confidence in the results, and consequently attract even less funding, Gartner said.

"Brand has long been treated as a communications asset, but it is actually a growth engine," said Julie Reeves, a vice president analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. "The challenge is that most organizations lack the measurement discipline and executive narrative needed to connect brand health to business performance. This creates a cycle where brand is undermeasured, underfunded, and undervalued."

Gartner also predicted that by 2028, more than 80 percent of companies will make significant changes to their company identity, such as mission, brand, and culture, to keep pace with the impact of artificial intelligence on markets. As AI accelerates commoditization and fuels disinformation, brand is one of the few remaining levers companies can use to claim a distinctive and trustworthy position in their markets, the firm said.

"In an AI-driven market, brand clarity becomes even more critical," Reeves said. "CMOs have an opportunity to help their organizations define what makes them distinctive, trusted, and relevant as customer expectations and competitive dynamics shift."

Brand strategy has a measurable impact beyond marketing, Gartner said further, noting that companies with a strong brand strategy are twice as llikely to exceed their growth goals, underscoring brand's role as a driver of enterprise performance.

Gartner's survey also found that C-suite executives appear open to elevating brand's strategic role: More than 50 percent want their CMOs to clarify the relationship between brand and business strategy, and 43 percent want a clear, simple story about brand health and business performance.

"CMOs need to move beyond tracking brand metrics in isolation," Reeves explained. "They must show how brand influences enterprise priorities, such as revenue, profit, customer experience, innovation, and market expansion. When brand measurement becomes a dashboard for growth decisions, CMOs are better positioned to earn executive confidence and investment."

Gartner urges CMOs looking to escape the brand doom loop to establish regular brand health measurement, connect brand metrics to business outcomes, and build a clear executive story that explains how brand contributes to growth.