--- title: Building Distinctive Brand Assets — book | RGM® Glossary url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/building-distinctive-brand-assets/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/building-distinctive-brand-assets/ --- # Building Distinctive Brand Assets /ˈbɪldɪŋ dɪˈstɪŋktɪv bɹænd ˈæˌsɛts/proper noun Stop debating the rebrand in a conference room — measure what buyers' memories already own. Author : Jenni Romaniuk Published : 2018, Oxford University Press Core grid : Fame × Uniqueness School : Ehrenberg-Bass Institute ## Forms & parts of speech asset palette · phrase (from the book) A brand's measured set of distinctive assets. "Our **asset palette** is one famous mascot and four orphans — invest accordingly." ## What the book says *Building Distinctive Brand Assets* applies Ehrenberg-Bass brand science to identity: distinctive assets — colors, logos, characters, taglines, sounds, fonts, shapes — exist to trigger the brand name in buyers' memories, and they should be managed by measurement, not taste. The core instrument is the fame-uniqueness grid: fame is the share of category buyers who link the asset to your brand; uniqueness is the share who link it ONLY to you. Assets earn investment, retirement, or rebuilding based on where they sit. ## The ideas people quote Use-it-or-lose-it — assets decay without consistent use; the danger zone — famous but shared assets advertise the category (or a rival); test before you change — rebrands that kill famous assets pay in lost mental availability; different asset types do different jobs (faces beat fonts for emotion, colors work at distance); and the smart-acquisition rule — build the palette around assets that work across media, including the small screens where most impressions now land. ## How to read it now It is the working antidote to redesign-by-boredom. Where *Positioning* tells you what to mean, this book tells you how to be RECOGNIZED — and the Ehrenberg-Bass evidence says recognition does more heavy lifting than meaning. Read it before any identity project; it converts the agency conversation from 'do you like it?' to 'what does it score?' **Worked example.** A beverage brand's new CMO wants a modern identity. The Romaniuk protocol runs the asset audit first — the 40-year-old script logo scores 81% fame, 88% uniqueness (untouchable), the bottle shape 64/79 (amplify), the current tagline 12/30 (replaceable). The redesign modernizes everything EXCEPT the two memory anchors, and shelf recognition survives the refresh intact — the usual rebrand tax, unpaid. **Failure modes to watch.** Retiring a famous asset because internal teams tired of it decades before buyers did; building five new assets at once so none reach fame; and measuring nothing, so the loudest opinion in the room becomes the brand strategy. ## Synonyms & antonyms ### Synonyms Building Distinctive Brand Assets ## Origin & history Published 2018 by Oxford University Press as the practitioner companion to the Ehrenberg-Bass research program — Romaniuk had developed the fame-and-uniqueness metrics across a decade of institute work for brands including Mars and Unilever. A second edition followed in 2023. Etymology: [source](https://www.marketingscience.info/books/). ## Usage trends Search interest for this term over the last five years: [View interest-over-time on Google Trends →](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=distinctive%20brand%20assets&date=today%205-y) ## Common questions Who wrote Building Distinctive Brand Assets? : Jenni Romaniuk of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, published 2018 by Oxford University Press. What is the fame-uniqueness grid? : The book's measurement — fame is how many buyers link an asset to your brand; uniqueness is how many link it only to you. What is the book's core advice? : Manage brand identity by measurement — build a small palette of famous, unique assets and use them with ruthless consistency. ## Related tools & calculators - tool[CAC calculator](/tools/cac-calculator/) - tool[LTV-to-CAC ratio](/tools/ltv-to-cac-ratio-calculator/) ## Resources & people to follow - book*Building Distinctive Brand Assets* — Jenni Romaniuk (the subject) - book*How Brands Grow Part 2* — Romaniuk & Sharp - referenceEhrenberg-Bass Institute Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term. ## Related training - module[Growth marketing foundations](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Disciplines Areas of marketing where building distinctive brand assets is a core concern: [Content strategy](/training/content-marketing/)[Brand strategy](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Read next ## Related terms [Jenni Romaniuk](/glossary/jenni-romaniuk/)[Distinctive brand assets](/glossary/distinctive-brand-assets/)[Mental availability](/glossary/mental-availability/)[How Brands Grow](/glossary/how-brands-grow/)[Brand awareness](/glossary/brand-awareness/) ## Sources 1. trends[Google Trends — "distinctive brand assets"](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=distinctive%20brand%20assets&date=today%205-y)