Defining, then establishing, true brand relevance takes old-fashioned hard work and old-fashioned marketing. To measure and ultimately understand relevance -- the linking of a brand's equity and its emotive and sensory aspects to the needs of a specific group of consumers -- required, if not demanded, a reliance on brand-building basics supported by leading-edge information management tools.

Let's take a look at one of the relevance-building concepts contained within these information tools. That is a concept based on needs-based segmentation that can help all marketers improve the accuracy and effectiveness of their advertising dollar expenditures.

Today's state-of-the-art targeting processes start with consumer-based survey and information tools that effectively link the way consumers see the market and what is most important to them with brand performance profiles. Take the concept of traditional perceptual maps, multidimensional market structures and brand image evaluations all integrated within an interactive software format. Then integrate into it a unique ingredient, a customer-driven need-based segmentation that includes detailed media usage linked to the agency's media data base.

This combination allows for unparalleled accuracy in optimizing positionings and the customers to whom these positionings would be most impactful and motivating. The needs-based segmentation, representing the different types of need states within a market, is the keystone to truly understanding the current and future behavior of customers. It has been our experience that customers do not purchase a brand because of their age or their zip code. They purchase a brand because when in a specific need state they perceive that brand to best deliver against their needs.

It is possible to determine for any positioning the relevant set of customer needs, how well each and every competitive brand is delivering against these needs and what is the ideal language and media mix.

Since the media information is integrated into the need segmentation, not only can the most effective brand position be determined and the most motivating language to communicate that position clearly identified, but also the specific paths to get that message to a specific customer group is never further away than a few keystrokes on your desktop computer.

Robert Posten is managing partner of The Landis Group, West Palm Beach, Fla.