A national survey of 164 Australian chief executives and business leaders reveals that while most agree branding is crucial to competitiveness, many firms are failing to support their brand strategies with sustained investment or consistent execution.
Brand value disparity
The findings indicate that 81% of participants believe branding is a key driver of competitive advantage, and 76% view it as a critical business asset. Yet, only 16% of leaders plan to increase brand investment in the next three years. Most investment decisions are determined by practical limitations such as available time, resources, and budgets rather than long-term strategic planning.
The survey also found that just over half (55%) consider their brand consistent across all touchpoints, while 40% are unsure or do not believe their brand communicates a clear point of difference. Regular brand management appears limited, with only 29% of businesses conducting structured brand reviews. More typically, branding is revisited only at key milestones (36%) or for specific campaigns (27%).
Small business trends
For smaller organisations (with revenue under AUD $3 million), the divide between recognising brand importance and actual brand discipline is even wider. While 97% of small business leaders acknowledge that branding matters for their success, just 18% report having a comprehensive brand strategy in place.
"Most Australian CEOs say they believe in brand, but belief isn't enough. The data shows businesses aren't managing it with the same discipline they apply to finance or operations, although they recognise its importance as a critical business asset," said Jodie de Vries, Founder of Tiny Hunter and report author.
de Vries added, "Brand is still too often treated as a marketing activity or a one-off project rather than a system that drives commercial performance, culture, and long-term value."
AI and branding
Artificial intelligence is beginning to impact branding, with 16% of surveyed leaders currently using AI to support their brand, and a further 55% open to AI adoption in future. Just 13% dismiss AI's role in branding outright, considering it fundamentally a human-driven discipline, while 17% confess to not knowing how to leverage AI for brand development.
Brand and culture
The survey also reveals only 29% of businesses formally incorporate their brand into their employer value proposition (EVP), despite broad agreement (82%) that employee experience heavily influences customer outcomes. Around one third (32%) actively invest in employee experience as a strategic focus, while another 42% invest sporadically and 26% make no investments in this area.
Although leaders largely recognise the value of brand in recruiting and retaining talent, there is little evidence of formal integration at the organisational level. Instead, brand often remains a marketing consideration, detached from employee experience and company culture.
Returns on brand investment
Among businesses that track returns on branding, results include increased brand awareness (34%), higher customer loyalty (32%), improved customer acquisition and retention rates (29%), enhanced employee attraction and retention (23%), and greater pricing power (18%). Nevertheless, the practice of measuring brand-driven ROI is far from widespread, further limiting disciplined investment approaches.
de Vries emphasised the importance of structured brand management, stating, "Belief in brands has never been higher, but belief alone doesn't build value. Structure does. The next step for Australian businesses to get ahead in 2026 is to embed brand thinking into the systems that drive their business and take the same disciplined approach that they do to the other parts of their business model."
