Branding For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 15

Valuing and Leveraging Your Brand

In This Chapter

Appreciating the good economics of a great brand

Understanding and evaluating the value and equity of your brand

Reaping the value of brand extensions and licensing

It seems almost too good to be true that a name, a promise, and a great reputation can be worth thousands, millions, or even billions of dollars, but it’s a fact you can bank on when you build and manage a great brand.

Often, when companies are bought and sold, as much as half of the money that trades hands covers the purchase of the brand name and all it means in the marketplace. That means that roughly 50 cents out of every dollar exchanged in many business sales goes not for inventory, buildings, physical items, business contracts, accounts receivable, or other tangible assets but for the purchase of the brand — something no one can actually see or touch, which is why brand equity is called an intangible asset.

Brand equity is so important that, in the world’s most successful businesses, the most valuable single intangible asset is the brand.

Great brands ...