Brand Audits: A Practical Guide for CMOs and Senior Leaders

Brand is no longer the preserve of the marketing team. For ambitious, growth-focused organisations, it sits at the heart of strategic planning and its impact is felt across every corner of the business.

But even the best brands drift. And when they do, the consequences are subtle but costly: diluted trust, internal misalignment, declining differentiation.

That’s where brand audits come in.

This guide is for CMOs, COOs, and senior decision-makers looking to take a proactive, structured approach to brand health.

Why Brand Audits Matter at Leadership Level

A brand audit is a strategic tool that:

• Validates whether your brand still supports your business goals
• Highlights gaps in perception, positioning and execution
• Uncovers inefficiencies across channels and teams
• Builds alignment across leadership and functions
• Helps define, guide and provide focus for internal processes  

Audits can be a catalyst for sharper decision-making, more effective investment and stronger performance, but you need buy-in from your leadership team to make this work. By including brand audits and brand measurements in your senior team meetings, you’re keeping it at the forefront and encouraging good brand practice to trickle throughout every level of leadership. 

What a Good Brand Audit Should Cover

There’s no fixed template, and there shouldn’t be, because brand audits worth their salt should be bespoke and tailored to suit your business setup. Generally, though, these are the 5 areas your brand audit should be broadly investigating. 

1. Strategic Fit

• Is your brand aligned with current (and future) business strategy?
• Is it enabling growth, transformation, and innovation?

2. External Reputation

• What do customers, partners and competitors really think?
• Are you seen as credible, distinctive and trustworthy?

3. Internal Understanding

• Can your people articulate the brand clearly and confidently?
• Are brand behaviours embedded and rewarded?

4. Consistency Across Touchpoints

• Is your brand showing up coherently across channels and regions?
• Are guidelines being followed?

5. Competitive Positioning

• Where does your brand sit in the market, and where could it?
• Are you leading the narrative or following it?

When Should You Run a Brand Audit?

A brand audit should be a standard leadership tool,not a last resort.

We recommend:

• Annually as part of your strategic planning cycle
• After significant change—such as mergers, restructures, or leadership shifts
• Before major investment in brand, marketing or comms activity

Think of it as brand governance: regular, structured and designed to keep you ahead. We have compiled a guide to when to run what kind of brand audit, and you can read that for free here. 

How 3manfactory Supports Brand Audits

We work directly with senior leaders to:

• Design brand audits around real business priorities
• Gather insight from internal teams, customers and stakeholders
• Benchmark brand perception and performance
• Deliver clear, board-ready recommendations

Whether you’re refreshing, repositioning or simply checking the foundations, we make sure your brand is fit to lead.