Building brands or bolstering egos? A comparative review of the impact and measurement of advertising on brand equity

Abstract

Brand equity is now receiving significant attention, both as a result of changes to international accounting standards relating to intangible assets and as a result of the renewed focus on the impact of marketing communications on brand performance. This paper reports on an investigation of the perceptions of senior marketing and advertising agency personnel regarding (1) the importance of brand equity as a valuation and performance measurement tool and (2) whether financially based brand equity measures and marketing-oriented measures can be translated into a single composite measure of brand equity/value. The findings reported herein indicate that, although financially based brand equity valuations have been a low priority in the past, there is increasing interest in this area and in the evaluation of the long-term impact of promotional activity as part of a wider drive for marketing accountability.