Brand momentum explained

Brand momentum is the energy and direction behind a brand’s growth, as perceived by the market: whether people see the brand as growing, standing still or declining. Developed by Tony Lewis at Vision One, it is measured by asking the market directly and has been shown to predict future brand performance before sales move. See how we measure brand momentum.

Brand momentum meaning: direction, not size

Most brand metrics describe a brand’s size at a point in time: how many people know it, consider it or use it. Brand momentum describes its direction of travel. Two brands with the same awareness today can have completely different futures: one gaining relevance and converting new audiences, the other slowly losing ground while its numbers still look healthy.

Momentum captures that trajectory. It is a perception measure, not a sales figure, because the market collectively notices which brands are winning long before the accounts do. That makes it an early indicator of growth, and an early warning of decline.

Brand momentum theory: p (momentum) = mass (m) x velocity (v)

Brand momentum theory borrows from mechanics. Momentum (p) equals mass (m) multiplied by velocity (v). A brand’s mass is its size, measured through awareness and usage. Its velocity is the direction and speed the market sees it moving, captured by asking people who know the brand whether it is growing, standing still or declining. Multiply the two and you have momentum: a big brand moving slowly can be overtaken by a smaller one moving fast.

The theory rests on the wisdom of crowds. No single consumer knows which brands are growing, but collectively people are remarkably good at sensing it. Vision One’s airline study recorded a low velocity score for Monarch Airlines six months before it went into administration, and a UK and US study showed The Body Shop’s momentum weakening months before its difficulties became public.

The three momentum states

• Growing brands: gaining awareness, relevance and conversion; building energy in the market and likely to outperform competitors.
• Static brands: stable scores with little movement; not in danger yet, but exposed to more dynamic competitors.
• Declining brands: losing awareness, relevance or engagement; momentum is draining, and the longer the slide runs the harder it is to reverse.

How is brand momentum measured?

Brand momentum needs only one extra question in a brand tracker, asked of everyone aware of the brand rather than only its customers: is this brand growing, standing still or declining? The balance of answers is the Brand Velocity Score. Combined with the brand’s size from the same survey, it gives a Brand Momentum Score that can be benchmarked against competitors and tracked wave by wave.

On the Brand Equity Wheel, momentum sits in the Energy theme alongside brand health, whose eight image attributes explain why momentum is rising or falling. Vision One reads it inside brand tracking studies and in the Brand Barometer sector rankings, and treats it as a better predictor of growth than Net Promoter Score, which only asks existing customers.

What drives brand momentum?

Momentum is shaped by strategic, emotional and experiential factors. The main drivers are:

• Relevance: how closely the brand aligns with what people need, value or care about.
• Perceptions of success: being seen as successful, popular, youthful and energetic.
• Clarity of positioning: a clear, differentiated message that people understand.
• Consistency: presence and coherence across every channel.
• Emotional connection: meaning and affinity beyond functional benefits.
• Customer experience: delivering on expectations at every touchpoint.
• Innovation and visibility: staying current, visible and culturally relevant.

Brands that invest across these drivers build positive momentum; those that neglect them plateau and then decline, often while awareness is still high.

Brand momentum strategy: how to use the metric

Momentum is most useful as a decision tool rather than a reporting line. Benchmark it against competitors and sector leaders; track it wave by wave to read the effect of campaigns and launches; and let the state set the priority. A breakout brand needs awareness at scale, a static brand needs a reason to be chosen again, and a declining brand needs relevance rebuilt before more media spend.

Because momentum moves before awareness and sales, it shifts planning from reactive to proactive: budgets follow the brands and segments that are gaining energy, and warning signs are caught while they are still cheap to fix. In the charity and travel sectors, Vision One’s Brand Barometer plots every major brand on strength against momentum for exactly this purpose.

Brand momentum in the book and the research

Brand Momentum: The #1 Growth Metric for Every Boardroom by Tony Lewis (Vision-X, 2024) sets out the theory, the research behind the Brand Velocity Score and the strategies that growing brands share. It won the Sales and Marketing category at the Business Book Awards 2025 and was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews. The battery model of brands, which treats a brand as a store of energy charged by relevance and creativity and drained by poor experience, is explained in our article on rethinking brands as energy.

Related terms

Brand reputation tracking: how trusted and favourably regarded a brand is, tracked over time.

Brand health tracking: the continuous measurement of awareness, perception and momentum over time.

Brand barometer: a sector benchmark that plots every major brand on strength against momentum.

Brand equity measurement: the value a brand adds, measured as one score across eight metrics, momentum among them.