How to Measure the Marketing Impact of Desirability

On October 22, BoF hosted a BoF LIVE event in partnership with Launchmetrics, bringing together a global online audience to delve into the challenge of measuring desirability in marketing. The new Launchmetrics report, "The Desirability Gap: How Mass Market Brands are Repositioning to Compete," reveals how measuring the meaning behind visibility, as well as the visibility itself, can transform repositioning activations from instinct into something that can be tracked, proven, and built upon.

High-end fashion brands are increasingly investing in cultural moments, with Loewe and Jacquemus at the FIFA World Cup, L'Oréal Paris featuring Celine Dion on the runway, and Lancôme partnering with The Devil Wears Prada 2. However, proving the effectiveness of these strategies remains difficult. Launchmetrics analyzed 50 mass-market brands between January 2025 and June 2026 and found that those pursuing premiumization strategies generated, on average, twice the Media Impact Value (MIV) of those that did not.

The MIV generated by Zara's collaboration with John Galliano amounted to $8.3 million in 48 hours. However, volume alone does not tell the whole story; understanding the impact of a campaign goes beyond just the MIV value.

The partnership between Zara and John Galliano generated 62 percent of its MIV from coverage linking Zara to fashion heritage and craft, and 54 percent from coverage depicting it as more premium. Launchmetrics' AI-powered tool, Analyze Coverage, surfaces the stories driving a brand's MIV. Alison Bringé, Launchmetrics' chief marketing officer, explains that this quantitative metric can describe the qualitative, helping brands move away from relying solely on visibility.

BoF's commercial features editor Dan Hastings, Alison Bringé, and Lucinda Bounsall, founder and head of strategy at the sibling studio, discussed key insights from the conversation. Bringé emphasizes the importance of moving beyond basic sentiment analysis to more specific questions like consumer perception of trendiness, historical brands, and progressiveness.

Lucinda Bounsall warns against confusing cultural relevance or meaning with virality, as the latter can be fleeting, while the former creates lasting impact. Brands must understand the rituals, narratives, and stories that create meaning, rather than merely participating in cultural events.

Ultimately, mass-market brands are under pressure from both low-cost players and premium brands targeting aspirational shoppers. Premiumization is a strategy that can help differentiate a brand in this competitive landscape. For example, since appointing Zac Posen as creative director in February 2024, Gap Inc.'s MIV has nearly doubled, up 99 percent between January 2025 and June 2026.

Launchmetrics' Analyze Coverage feature reveals that 78 percent of Gap's media value came from coverage describing the brand as embodying "accessible elevation," and 61 percent from linking it to "high-low prestige." Bounsall highlights the importance of creative leadership in building lasting desirability and advises businesses to let those who understand culture "cook" without excessive red tape and decision-making processes.