The following article is an overview of a fireside panel and subsequent conversation, ​“Brand: the Overlooked Link in Private Company Valuations,” led by Breakout Studio Founder, Brandon Labrum, and President & COO, Elise Johnston, at the 2026 ICR Conference in Orlando, FL.
 

What do we mean by ​“brand” in the context of valuation?

Brand is the market’s perception of a company’s ability to deliver sustained performance. It’s not a logo or set of marketing assets.

In the context of this conversation, brand refers to a set of valuation inputs. It’s the collective perception of a company, including its credibility, reliability and differentiated positioning in relation to competitors. 

Brand is the collective perception of customers, employees, and investors. Despite how nebulous that sounds, a company’s brand has quite measurable financial impact, based on risk evaluation, predictability, and differentiation.

 

So. what does that gap actually look like?

A solid brand framework costs a fraction of the deal’s legal and QoE bill, and yet it is so often an afterthought. This shows up in the following ways:

• A brand assessment doesn’t make the diligence tracker
• Deprioritizing it (“We’ll redo the brand down the line after we close”)
• Prettying up sales collateral without a cohesive plan
• Tolerating sub-optimal digital assets and tools
• Not connecting the brand to AI-driven customization tools
• Investing in brand only in the eleventh hour prep for exit

From an investor perspective

Breakout founder, Brandon Labrum, shared a lesson learned from his own experience as a former asset manager at a PE firm, where, during the diligence phase of a middle-market buyout, he stated that ​“over-reliance on informal perception led to missed opportunities and over valuing assets.“

A few common pitfalls of investors performing a brief, qualitative review of brand:

• Informal, cursory review of customer experience
• Assumption that this company is a ​“category leader”
• Sleek social media presence
• Informal analysis of loyalty metrics

From a seller perspective

In another example, the discussion covered a growth-stage wellness company that made meaningful investment, with the support of their backing VC, in their brand architecture and established monitoring systems that led to higher retention, category leadership, and an acquisition premium.

The most consequential elements of this brand work included:

• Formal competitor audit and perception study
• Development of positioning, brand narrative, product architecture, and voice
• Interviews and ongoing user testing tools 
• A dedicated team member for brand management

Key factors in measuring brand value

Although brand value isn’t a fixed number, there are methods to include combined qualitative and quantitative data in a standard process. 

A thorough review of qualitative data gathered from critical touchpoints, including employee and customer interviews, the company website, social media presence, sales materials, and marketing campaign strategy can begin to paint a picture.

Quantitative data can be gathered from multiple sources to support concrete decision-making. This should include SEO ranking tools, AEO/GEO performance analysis as compared to competitors, inbound win rates, and loyalty metrics like Retention, Churn & CLV which are closely tied to market perception and can have broader directional implications for the brand’s longevity.

• Loyalty metrics (Retention, Churn, CLV)
• Inbound win rates
• SEO/AEO performance in relation to competitors
• Perception studies (interviews, surveys)
• Analysis of 3rd party forums like Reddit and industry groups
• Clarity of positioning + MVV
• Customer survey of recall of narrative + visual language

The takeaway

Investors should implement a simple, repeatable data-backed brand rubric.
Sellers should measure brand value and make it explicit as a valuation lever.

 

A bit more about Breakout Studio

We are a full-scale branding and creative agency with deep roots in the financial services sector. Our team has partnered with leaders in every industry, with a specialized focus on data-driven branding for private equity funds and their portfolio companies. We rethink and rebuild outstanding, scalable, and effective brands. Let’s figure out where you stand, and then we’ll design, write, develop, build, and launch a brand that grows with you well into the future.

Let’s chat.