Want to know what the future holds for your brand?

By Zeke Hughes, Managing Director – QuestBrand, The Harris Poll

Brand Momentum is the one metric that’s the clearest indicator of your brand’s future success. This is why and how to use it.

For the past decade, marketers have looked to the usual suspects of brand equity, customer familiarity, consideration, and awareness to give us a clear picture of a brand’s health. While these are still solid metrics that tell you where your brand is positioned in the market, to fully understand where it’s headed, you need to track its momentum.

Why is tracking Brand Momentum so important?

Brand Momentum is critical because it tells you in real-time if customers find your brand relevant, on the rise, stagnating, or slipping. According to our HarrisQuest research, this is one of your earliest indicators of brand health. It tells you what’s working right now, where you can afford to double down to accelerate growth, or where you need to course correct. It predicts not only loyalty, but revenue, share of wallet, and even market valuation.

How is Brand Momentum different from Brand Equity?

Brand Equity tells you how durable and resilient your reputation is. There’s no denying it is a critical metric to track. But your Brand Momentum score tells you if your reputation is losing or gaining energy. This distinction is important as your brand may have high awareness and strong legacy equity, while quietly losing relevance.

“At its core Brand Momentum answers a simple question: based on what people have seen, read, or heard, is this brand on the rise, holding steady, or slipping?”

Because Brand Momentum is rooted in lived experience – media coverage, product launches, cultural moments, social conversation – it tends to respond faster than lagging indicators like purchase intent or loyalty.

Why does Brand Momentum matter now more than ever before?

Firstly, Brand Momentum has taken center stage because brand perception is now being shaped in real time. Rather than by quarterly cycles, your brand is subject to the whims of social media – where sentiment can turn on a dime.

“Reports tell you what’s happened; Brand Momentum tells you what’s on the horizon.”

Secondly, younger audiences have shortened the brand-forgiveness window. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are reassessing brands constantly. Rewarding brands that seem authentic and aligned with their values and punishing those that don’t.

These brands don’t just plateau, they fall behind. Brand decisions no longer live in the boardroom and industry papers; they spill out onto social media and public conversation. Layoffs, supply issues, or substandard service are amplified and have external momentum repercussions.

Brand Momentum is emotional before it’s rational

Across industries, the brands gaining momentum aren’t necessarily those that are the cheapest, biggest, or most innovative. Although we do see that in some cases. The brands that have the highest uptick with Brand Momentum are those that consistently trigger the right emotional responses for their category.

For example, in automotive, trust and dependability still dominate. As EV continues to disrupt, brands that signal reliability are rewarded with momentum. Toyota has mastered the art of trust. Its brand narrative has remained focused on reliability for decades. This is further reinforced by engineering quality, low recall rates, and long vehicle lifespans.

Images: The Harris Poll

In streaming, value and content relevance matter more than content quantity. Apple TV’s momentum with millennials in 2025 was driven by a clear shift from shows that were “prestige but niche” to shows that were “reliably worth paying for” – anchored in content consistency and cultural relevance. This reinforces the platform as one that consistently delivers quality. And, for Millennials, Brand Momentum builds when subscriptions feel justified month after month, not just for one tentpole release.

When it comes to e-commerce, where competition is fierce, momentum hinges on trust. Ultra-low pricing drives short-term attention, but the momentum isn’t there as the confidence in quality and safety isn’t strong enough.

This is why performance marketing alone rarely sustains momentum. Visibility without that emotional connection spikes sales but doesn’t build a trajectory.

How leaders should use Brand Momentum

Tracking Brand Momentum is only useful if it serves to change behavior. The most effective teams use it in three ways:

1. An early warning system

Sudden drops or dips in momentum flag reputational risks before it becomes a full-on crisis. Equally, sudden upticks flag what’s working and needs to be amplified.

2. A prioritization tool

By linking changes to certain actions: partnerships, campaigns, messaging, and launches, teams can immediately see what’s landing and what isn’t.

3. A strategic compass

Momentum clarifies whether a brand is culturally aligned or drifting. It forces leadership to confront not just performance, but relevance. Good performance in one quarter shouldn’t be celebrated in isolation.

Reports tell you what’s happened; Brand Momentum tells you what’s on the horizon.

Want to understand how to fully utilize Brand Momentum? Download the HarrisQuest 2026 Guide to Brand Momentum Playbook.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are the author's own.

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