It is well established marketing theory that strong brands can charge a price premium. However, in practice, data suggests some marketers are struggling to measure the link.
According to Marketing Week’s 2025 Language of Effectiveness research, in partnership with Kantar and Google, just two-fifths (40.3%) of the more than 1,000 brand marketers surveyed agree they can quantify the relationship between brand strength and price elasticity.
The data finds the link between brand strength and price power is harder to prove for B2B marketers, with less than a third (31.2%) able to quantify the connection versus 40.8% of their B2C peers.
It is well established marketing theory that strong brands can charge a price premium. However, in practice, data suggests some marketers are struggling to measure the link.
According to Marketing Week’s 2025 Language of Effectiveness research, in partnership with Kantar and Google, just two-fifths (40.3%) of the more than 1,000 brand marketers surveyed agree they can quantify the relationship between brand strength and price elasticity.
The data finds the link between brand strength and price power is harder to prove for B2B marketers, with less than a third (31.2%) able to quantify the connection versus 40.8% of their B2C peers.
Over a third of SME marketers (35.7%) can demonstrate the link between brand strength and price elasticity, compared to more than two-fifths (42.3%) of their counterparts in large businesses (250 employees and over).
Just a little over two-fifths (41.3%) of CMOs are confident in their organisation’s ability to quantify how brand strength translates into price power.
Why marketing is key to delivering profitable growth
It may not always be simple demonstrating the synergy between investing in brand and charging higher prices, but it’s a theory the vast majority of marketers buy into.
Some 87.9% of the total sample claim stronger brands can charge customers higher prices, an opinion shared by 90% of marketers working in large organisations and 83.9% within SMEs. This is a belief that’s consistently held among B2B (87.6%) and B2C (87.8%) marketers alike.
Indeed, 90.7% of CMOs responding to the Language of Effectiveness survey believe strong brands can charge higher prices.
However, appreciating the link between brand strength and price power does not mean every business can use this to their advantage.
Over half (58.9%) of the total sample claim their company can charge higher prices than competitors due to a stronger brand. More than two-thirds of CMOs (64.1%) agree their business has the edge over rivals when it comes to pricing thanks to brand strength.
The data suggests B2B marketers (61.9%) are more likely to work in a firm that can charge a premium based on brand strength than those working within B2C (53.1%).
Likewise, marketers working in larger companies (63.4%) are more likely to say their business can command higher prices thanks to a strong brand than their SME peers (50.4%).
A place for price
The wider Language of Effectiveness data shows price strategy isn’t always top of mind with marketers. Just 12.7% of the total sample say defending and growing profit margins through price is their most important role in business.
By contrast, over half (57.9%) say marketing’s key role is to grow market share, followed by communicating a consistent and desirable brand image (54%) and defending/growing sales (36.2%).
Regardless of how the data is cut, defending and growing profit margins via price is consistently ranked the least important part of the marketing remit.
Well under a fifth (16.9%) of CMOs claim defending and growing profit through price is the primary focus of marketing. Just 10.3% of B2B marketers and 13% of their B2C counterparts agree.
A similar story plays out when looking at the data by size of company. Only 11.7% of marketers working within SMEs, and 13% of those in large companies, claim defending and growing profit margins through price is the main role of marketing.
When asked which tactics will be most important for achieving their business objectives this year, just under a quarter (23.5%) of the total sample plan to use price promotions, while 10.1% intend to apply lower base prices and 9.3% higher base prices.
The most popular tactic with marketers for achieving their commercial goals over the next 12 months emerged as brand advertising (54.7%), followed by performance advertising (40.5%).
Two-fifths (39.2%) cited the implementation of CRM, loyalty schemes or direct marketing and a product/service innovation (39%). This was followed by brand partnerships (30.6%) and distribution strategy (26.9%).
Click here to read all the Language of Effectiveness content so far.
