Do you value your brand as an asset on the balance sheet?
Or do you stop counting at dirt, machines and buildings?

The emotional connection to a product or service is fast becoming the reason products and services are preferred in a category. Companies are increasingly beginning to recognise the need to invest in the development and promotion of this - their special intellectual property.

Branding is not just for marketers. Today's CEO must understand the value of building intangible assets.

In a volatile manufacturing environment, investment in brands is often a safer proposition than investing in asset-rich businesses. This is a view increasingly being taken by the world's largest businesses. Look at Coke. Coca-Cola owns high-multiple businesses, while their bottling networks operate on thin margins. Their value is in the brand portfolio.

The Coca-Cola brand is valued at $67,394 billion* and accounts for 51% of the stock market value of the Coca-Cola company.

*Source: "The Best Global Brands", BusinessWeek (August 9-16 2004).