The tool, called BrandEquity ROI, uses modelling and metrics to measure how much a company’s revenue declines over the years if their brand investment is cut.

BrandEquity ROI incorporates metrics such as brand awareness, sentiment and reputation against business key performance indicators such as sales and leads, which are in turn tested for sensitivity to brand media.

IMS said this technique identifies where brand advertising has an impact on business goals, and therefore which strategies are most likely to lead to longer-term growth.

For example, the company said that its data showed that companies that stop investing in brand activity for five consecutive years need to invest seven times the amount of money into marketing each year to keep the same level of sales as a company that maintained brand investment.

Alex Vass, founder and chief executive at IMS, said: “Once a brand reaches maturity, we often see budgets cut and funds diverted from brand-building to protect short-term margins. This leads to a cycle of decline in the business that is often impossible to revert.

“BrandEquity ROI protects mature brands from decline by providing chief marketing officers and chief financial officers with a financial case for sustained brand investment, countering the common pressure to cut brand building marketing tactics.”