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AChapterfromBrandsandBrandingAnEconomistBookBrandValuationInterbrand130FifthAvenueNewYork,NY10011Telephone:2127987500@interbrand.comBrandValuationThebrandisaspecialintangiblethatinmanybusinessesisthemostimportantasset.Thisisbecauseoftheeconomicimpactthatbrandshave.“Ifthisbusinessweresplitup,Iwouldgiveyouthelandandbricksandmortar,andIwouldtakethebrandsandtrademarks,andIwouldfarebetterthanyou.”—JohnStuart,ChairmanofQuaker(ca.1900)Inthelastquarterofthe20thcenturytherewasadramaticshiftintheunderstandingofthecreationofshareholdervalue.Formostofthecentury,tangibleassetswereregardedasthemainsourceofbusinessvalue.Theseincludedmanufacturingassets,landandbuildingsorfinancialassetssuchasreceivablesandinvestments.Theywouldbevaluedatcostoroutstandingvalueasshowninthebalancesheet.Themarketwasawareofintan-gibles,buttheirspecificvalueremainedunclearandwasnotspecificallyquantified.Eventoday,theevaluationofprofitabilityandperformanceofbusinessesfocusesonindicatorssuchasreturnoninvestment,assetsorequitythatexcludeintangiblesfromthedenominator.Measuresofpricerelatives(forexample,price-to-bookratio)alsoexcludethevalueofintangibleassetsastheseareabsentfromaccountingbookvalues.Thisdoesnotmeanthatmanagementfailedtorecognizetheimportanceofintangibles.Brands,technology,patentsandemployeeswerealwaysattheheartofcorporatesuccess,butrarelyexplic-itlyvalued.Theirvaluewassubsumedintheoverallassetvalue.MajorbrandownerslikeTheCoca-ColaCompany,Procter&Gamble,UnileverandNestléwereawareoftheimportanceoftheirbrands,asindicatedbytheircreationofbrandmanagers,butonthestockmarket,investorsfocusedtheirvalueassessmentontheexploitationoftangibleassets.EvidenceofbrandvalueTheincreasingrecognitionofthevalueofintan-giblescamewiththecontinuousincreaseinthegapbetweencompanies’bookvaluesandtheirstockmarketvaluations,aswellassharpincreasesinpremiumsabovethestockmarketvaluethatwerepaidinmergersandacquisitionsinthelate1980s.Todayitispossibletoarguethat,ingeneral,themajorityofbusinessvalueisderivedfromintangibles.Managementattentiontotheseassetshascertainlyincreasedsubstantially.Thebrandisaspecialintangiblethatinmanybusinessesisthemostimportantasset.Thisisbecauseoftheeconomicimpactthatbrandshave.Theyinfluencethechoicesofcustomers,employees,investorsandgovernmentauthorities.Inaworldofabundantchoices,suchinfluenceiscrucialforcommercialsuccessandcreationofshareholdervalue.Evennon-profitorganizationshavestartedembracingthebrandasakeyassetforobtainingdonations,sponsorshipsandvolunteers.Somebrandshavealsodemonstratedanastonish-ingdurability.Theworld’smostvaluablebrand,1Coca-Cola,ismorethan118yearsold;andthemajorityoftheworld’smostvaluablebrandshavebeenaroundformorethan60years.Thiscompareswithanestimatedaveragelifespanforacorpora-tionof25yearsorso.2Manybrandshavesurvivedastringofdifferentcorporateowners.Severalstudieshavetriedtoestimatethecontribu-tionthatbrandsmaketoshareholdervalue.AstudybyInterbrandinassociationwithJPMorgan(seeTable2.1)concludedthatonaveragebrandsaccountformorethanone-thirdofshareholdervalue.Thestudyrevealsthatbrandscreatesignifi-cantvalueeitherasconsumerorcorporatebrandsorasacombinationofboth.2Table2.1showshowbigtheeconomiccontri-butionmadebybrandstocompaniescanbe.TheMcDonald’sbrandaccountsformorethan70percentofshareholdervalue.TheCoca-Colabrandaloneaccountsfor51percentofthestockmarketvalueoftheCoca-ColaCompany.Thisisdespitethefactthatthecompanyownsalargeport-folioofotherdrinksbrandssuchasSpriteandFanta.StudiesbyacademicsfromHarvardandtheUniversityofSouthCarolina3andbyInterbrand4ofthecompaniesfeaturedinthe“BestGlobalBrands”leaguetableindicatethatcompanieswithstrongbrandsoutperformthemarketinrespectofseveralindices.Ithasalsobeenshownthataport-folioweightedbythebrandvaluesoftheBestGlobalBrandsperformssignificantlybetterthanMorganStanley’sglobalMSCIindexandtheAmerican-focusedS&P500index.Today,leadingcompaniesfocustheirmanagementeffortsonintangibleassets.Forexample,theFordMotorCompanyhasreduceditsphysicalassetbaseinfavorofinvestinginintangibleassets.Inthepastfewyears,ithasspentwellover$12billiontoacquireprestigiousbrandnamessuchasJaguar,AstonMartin,VolvoandLandRover.Samsung,aleadingelectronicsgroup,investsheavilyinitsintangibles,spendingabout7.5percentofannualrevenuesonR&Dandanother5percentoncom-munications.5Inpackagedconsumergoods,companiesspendupto10percentofannualrevenuesonmarketingsupport.AsJohnAkasiewroteinanarticleinForbesmagazine:6“It’saboutbrandsandbrandbuildingandcon-sumerrelationships…Decapitalized,brandowningcompaniescanearnhugereturnsontheircapitalandgrowfaster,unencumberedbyfactoriesandmassesofmanualworkers.Thosearethethingsthatthestockmarketrewardswithhighprice/earningsratios.BrandsonthebalancesheetThewaveofbrandacquisitionsinthelate1980sresultedinlargeamountsofgoodwillthatmostaccountingstandardscouldnotdealwithinaneconomicallysensibleway.TransactionsthatsparkedthedebateaboutaccountingforgoodwillonthebalancesheetincludedNestlé’spurchaseofR