Image Measurement

Defining image

Image is the publics’ perception of externally visible characteristics of organisations and brands. Just like we present ourselves with clothes we wear, cars we drive, workplaces we occupy, newspapers we read, organisations present their personality though products and services they offer, employee relations, advertising, corporate graphical identity, buildings and vehicles. Brands too present their personality through their corporate graphical identity, packaging and advertising.

The most common definition states that image is “a result of interactions between publics’ experiences, impressions, convictions, sensations and knowledge about an organisation”.

Why to measure image and how to do it?

Every organisation and brand has its own image that differentiates it from competitive organisations and brands. Target groups or publics, significant to the organisation/brand, may have diverse perceptions about the organisation’s/brand’s image.

Measuring image is important for defining, executing and evaluating the efficiency of all organisation’s communicational activities that (re)position the organisation/brand in the publics in a certain way. The process of measuring an image consists of two basic research stages. The first is a qualitative survey in the target publics. It’s used to determine the elements of image, which the target groups link to the organisation’s/brand’s specifics. This stage is followed by quantitative measurements of image. The second stage determines the elements of image that the target groups attribute to the organisation or brand.