references/figures/david-aaker.md

# David Aaker

## Contribution

A decision card for the Brand Equity & Memory Structure school. Use the principles, not the personality.

## Principles

- brand identity is broader than a tagline.
- associations and perceived quality create strategic value.
- brand architecture needs deliberate scope.

## Apply when

- The current decision matches this figure's documented area of contribution.
- The principle can be tied to evidence, a mechanism, or a testable assumption.

## Do not infer

- The figure's name does not settle a disagreement.
- Historical work is not evidence that a current market fact is true.
- Do not mimic personal voice, mannerisms, or biography.

## Connected theories

- `brand-equity-model`

## Counterweights

- Compare with `byron-sharp` when the principle would otherwise become a universal rule.

## Sources

- `source:aaker-brand-equity`