“Everyone in leadership describes the brand differently.”
Seeleadership agreement as a number, and the shared profile across 12 archetypes
Dothe calibration meeting: together you choose the primary archetype
ACM Marketing · for brands and agencies
Does your brand say the same thing everywhere?
Usually not: leadership believes one thing, the channels show another, the customer sees a third. ACM Marketing measures the brand’s 4 images on the same scale of 12 archetypes, calculates the 6 gaps between them and shows you what to fix first. The result comes with the materials it rests on, so you can check it.
CBelieveswhat leadership believes≠FDoeswhat the brand publishes≠AExpectswhat the customer expects≠VSeeswhat the market sees
Demo without an account · create one via “Log in” when you’re ready
4perspectives6gaps12archetypes3/6/12months to re-measurement
#1 Creator
Believesleadership · 4 people#1 Creator
Doeschannels · 251 materials
#1 Sage
Expectscategory · 720 responses#1 Creator
Seesmarket · 347 awareBrands that measure with ACM
It’s for you if…
Do you recognise yourself in any of these statements?
Nine situations in the life of a brand. For each one, ACM has a screen and a concrete step.
1Before you decide
2When you communicate
3After
“We invest in advertising, but the image isn’t shifting.”
Seethe diagnosis: Impostor or Misunderstood
Doyou first fix what the brand does, or you increase the budget
“Customers say it’s not what they expected.”
SeePromise: what the customer expects versus what they get
Doyou find the archetype where the promise doesn’t hold
“We want to reposition, but we don’t know where we’re starting from.”
Seethe starting snapshot, across all four perspectives
Doyou declare the transition upfront; at re-measurement you see whether it takes hold
“On Instagram we’re one thing, on the website another, in the shop a third.”
Seeeach channel, coded separately, on the same grid
Doyou carry the same fingerprint across every channel
“We changed something six months ago. Did it work?”
Seethe re-measurement on the same map, next to the first
Doyou keep, adjust or close the decision
“We don’t know whether to be like the leader or completely different.”
SeeContrast and Boldness, with the optimal zone
Doyou choose how far to go, based on data, not taste
“We do things well, but customers don’t notice.”
SeeLegibility: the distance between what you do and what is seen
Doyou know the problem is visibility, not the product
“I have to justify the budget to the owner.”
Seethe gaps and the diagnosis on one screen, with the source of the figures
Dothe conversation moves from “I think” to data
What problems it solves
Each gap is a marketing problem with a name.
Six distances between the brand’s four images.
CF
Integritytowards zero
The strategy says one thing, the content does another.
FV
Legibilitytowards zero
You do things right, but it doesn’t show.
CV
Mirrortowards zero
Leadership believes in an image that customers don’t have.
AV
Promisetowards zero
The customer expected something else from the category.
FA
Contrastoptimal zone
You’re either a copy of the category or unrecognisable.
CA
Boldnessoptimal zone
Leadership is too timid or too far from the market.
Plus three questions every leadership team asks
Does leadership describe the same brand?internal agreement, as a number
Should I spend on communication or not?Impostor or Misunderstood
Did the change work?re-measurement after 3, 6 or 12 months
Why it matters
The brand you believe in isn’t the brand the customer sees.
The gap between intention and perception has long been documented. ACM measures it for your brand, across four perspectives.
Companies that believe they deliver a superior experience80%
Customers who say the same about them8%
Bain & Company, “Closing the delivery gap”, 362 companies · 200579%
of customers expect consistent interactions across every department of a company
Salesforce, State of the Connected Customer, 6th ed.81%
say they must trust a brand to buy from it
Edelman Trust Barometer, In Brands We Trust? · 2019Where it applies
At every stage of the marketing process.
Eight moments when ACM changes a decision. Choose a stage to see the question, the data and the screen.
Stage 1 of 8
The starting audit
“How coherent is our brand right now?”
What goes in
→the leadership survey · materials from the channels · the public survey
What ACM does
→maps the 4 perspectives onto 12 archetypes and calculates 6 gaps
What comes out
the starting snapshot and the diagnosis
The starting snapshotNord Atelier · example
CBelieves
#1 Creator
FDoes
#1 Creator
AExpects
#1 Sage
VSees
#1 Creator
DiagnosisRupture · distinct
Stage 2 of 8
Strategy and positioning
“Which archetype do we choose as primary?”
What goes in
→what leadership believes · what the category expects
What ACM does
→compares the intention with the category; shows the optimal zone for Contrast and Boldness
What comes out
the primary archetype, chosen on the basis of data and recorded
The positioning decisionNord Atelier · example
Proposed primary archetypeCreator#1 in what leadership believes
Contrast45zone 20 ± 15Boldness46zone 20 ± 15Promise55%agreement · target 100%
The decision is recorded: who decided, why, and when it will be checked.
Stage 3 of 8
Internal alignment
“Do new people understand the brand the same way?”
What goes in
→the Believes survey, for new people
What ACM does
→measures agreement with the shared profile
What comes out
onboarding based on the same brand profile
Believes · leadershipteam agreement · example
1234
Internal clarity74%agreement among members of the leadership team
Stage 4 of 8
Creative briefs
“What do we ask the creative team for?”
What goes in
→the target profile · what the brand publishes now
What ACM does
→calculates the difference for each archetype
What comes out
a brief: what is missing from the content and what is superfluous
Brief for the creative teamcalculated from Believes vs Does · example
Missing from the content
Lover+9Creator+2
Lover+9Creator+2Beyond the intention
Everyman-5
Hero-4
Everyman-5Hero-4The difference, in points out of 100, between what leadership believes (the intention) and what the brand publishes now.
Stage 5 of 8
Working with agencies
“What did the agency’s campaign change?”
What goes in
→shared brief · re-measurement
What ACM does
→the same map, before and after
What comes out
a data-based evaluation of the result
Before and after the campaignillustration
Beforemeasurement 1Legibility · Promise · Integrity
→Afterthe remeasurementthe same gaps, the same map
The agency and the client read the result against the same grid, not on impressions.
Stage 6 of 8
Content, by channel
“Are we the same brand on Instagram, on the website and in the shop?”
What goes in
→the materials, coded for each channel
What ACM does
→calculates each channel’s profile and its deviation from the fingerprint
What comes out
the channel that deviates most
The fingerprint by channelillustration · no real values
Instagram
Website
Facebook
Shop
TikTok
How far each channel deviates from the brand’s fingerprint. The channel with the biggest deviation is worked on first.
Stage 7 of 8
Budget and media
“Should we increase the communications budget?”
What goes in
→the two-axis diagnosis
What ACM does
→separates Impostor from Misunderstood
What comes out
the decision: fix first or invest
DiagnosisImpostor
A campaign makes the problem more visible. First fix what the brand does.
Don’t raise the budget yetDiagnosisMisunderstood
The brand does what it says, but it doesn’t show. This is where the money really works.
Invest in communicationStage 8 of 8
Periodic measurement
“Has anything moved since the last measurement?”
What goes in
→the current collection, frozen
What ACM does
→compares with the previous measurement, on the same map
What comes out
the history, and the decisions kept or closed
Re-measurementillustration · no real values
The current collection is frozen and compared with the next one.
The method
Four sources go in. One diagnosis comes out.
The same published method as in the concept, applied to your brand.
- 1CFAV4 sources
leadership, channels, category, market
- 2
12 archetypeseach perspective becomes a 100-point profile
- 36 gaps
the distances between perspectives, with declared targets
- 4RupturedistinctThe diagnosis
coherence on two axes, across 3 tiers, and what to do first
The platform
The whole brand, in one place.
The screens you work in, from collection to decision.
Everything on one screen
The four perspectives, the 6 gaps and the diagnosis. This is where you start any conversation about the brand.
Command centreNord Atelier · example
CBelievesFDoesAExpectsVSees
Integrity79%Legibility79%Mirror79%
DiagnosisRupture · distinct
What leadership believes
Each person in leadership splits 100 points across 12 archetypes. You see the shared profile and how closely they match.
Believes · leadershipteam agreement · example
1234
Internal clarity74%agreement among members of the leadership team
What the brand publishes
Materials from the channels, coded on 12 archetypes by a team with assigned roles, with cross-checking between coders.
Does · 100 pointschannel profile · example
Creator41
Caregiver15Lover13Sage9Everyman6Coder B checks 20% of the materials.
What the market expects and sees
A single public survey: first what the customer expects from a good brand in the category, then how they see yours.
The public surveyExpects, then Sees · example
A good brand in this category should…
„explain and provide evidence”
1234567
not at allto a very great extent
Category first, then the brand: the order is non-negotiable.
What you change and when you check
Decisions have owners, steps and a re-measurement date. The history is kept for comparison.
Decisionsillustration
Creator stays primaryLeadershipdecided
Instagram materials, aligned to CreatorMarketingin progress
Re-measurement Believes + Does6 monthsplanned
The difference
Not just another image tracker.
Tracking tells you how you’re seen. ACM also tells you why.
| Classic image tracking | ACM Marketing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it asks | the customer | leadership, the channels, the category and the market |
| Intention alongside behaviour | no | yes: Believes and Does, on the same map as Sees |
| What the category expects | rarely | yes: Expects, before Sees |
| What to do with the budget | open to interpretation | the diagnosis says whether a campaign helps |
| Method | proprietary | published openly, with benchmarks declared before the data comes in |
Who it’s for
For your brand or for your clients.
Brands
owner, marketing director, brand team- you see where coherence breaks, between what you believe, what you publish and what the customer sees
- recorded decisions, with steps and owners
- re-measurement after 3, 6 or 12 months shows whether anything has moved
Agencies
strategy, branding, communications- you and the client use the same grid of 12 archetypes, not impressions
- several brands in one account, each with its own team
- a measured starting point for a new client
Case study · demo example
Nord Atelier, from data to decision.
The demo brand, fully measured. The example is fictional; real case studies come with the brands’ consent.
C4people in leadershipF251coded pieces of contentA720survey responsesV347people familiar with the brand
- Setupidentity, audience, channels
- Collectionthe leadership survey, the materials, the public survey
- The gapsIntegrity 79% · Legibility 79% · Promise 55%
- The decisionCreator stays primary; the materials are brought into line
- Re-measurementin 6 months, on the same map
See exactly what the Nord Atelier team saw, screen by screen.
Explore the demo →Start with what you have
Three tiers, at your own pace.
You don’t need all the data on day one.
- 1Believes + DoesInternal coherence audit
what leadership believes and what the brand publishes
- 2SeesWith perception
the public survey: how the customer sees the brand
- 3Expects · 6 gapsFull diagnosis
what the customer expects; coherence on two axes, and the decisions
What brands say
The brands and agencies measuring with ACM.
Video and written experiences from owners, marketing teams and agencies.
MarketingFour people, four cafés: a brand has four charactersBrand coherence is the distance between four pictures of the same brand: what management believes, what the brand publishes, what the client expects from the category and what they actually see. ACM Framework puts them on the same map and shows where the picture breaks and what to fix first.MarketingThe brand you believe in isn't the one the client seesClients see a brand differently from the company because they look from a different place: the company from its intentions, the client from what they receive. ACM Framework puts the two pictures on the same map and shows where the road between them breaks.MarketingThe 8 moments when a brand audit changes a decisionYou need a brand audit whenever you are making a brand decision and don’t know where you are starting from. ACM Framework does it at eight moments, across four phases, from the starting audit to periodic measurement.
Questions
What brands ask.
What data do I need?
From four sources: the leadership survey (Believes), the materials the brand has published, coded on 12 archetypes (Does), and the public survey, which yields Expects and Sees.
Can I start without the public survey?
Yes. The first tier is the internal coherence audit: Believes and Does. The customer’s perception and the full diagnosis come afterwards.
How often should I measure?
Re-measurement takes place after 3, 6 or 12 months. The current collection is frozen, stays in the history and is compared with the next one.
Can I work on several brands?
Yes, from the same account. You pick the brand from the ⇅ menu, each with its own team and measurements.
Where do I see the results?
In the Command centre: the four perspectives, the 6 gaps, the two-axis diagnosis and the decisions.
Start with your brand.
You create your account on app.acmframework.com, set up the brand in 3 steps and start the first measurement.