Brand Performance means to us, that the brand value has to bear interest and on top of that, the brand has to provide a measurable contribution to the success of a business as a whole.

In general, nobody speaks of the value of a brand and the corresponding brand value return. Unbelievable, but this is the reality. Most businesses, provided that they own brands, assume that their competitive environment and therefore their business results are better due to their brands, than other businesses, who do not utilize brands. Details are only known in few cases.

The value of brands is usually only mentioned in yearly published brand value lists and when a business is being purchased or sold. In those brand value lists, published yearly by different institutions, the figures often are divergent. If you look at the financial statements of the brand owners listed on the stock exchange, then you will realize, that the value is often unrealistic or, and this is the other explanation, the business does not receive a noteworthy yield from the brand value.

In terms of contribution of the brand to the business results it is not easy to come up with a valid statement, but there are options to determine, what a brand is able to accomplish. Prerequisite is, that the funds used for brand maintenance and promotion are under a strict supervision of results and are displayed in the calculation of products. It is not enough to speak of it in general, that X percent have been spent on marketing. Marketing funds should not be seen as expenditures, but as investments. Marketing funds should, if they are to be used for brand products, not flow into the structure of conditions. They have to be used directly and only for the benefit of the brand. Not just when the cash flow is good and at one’s discretion.

Investments into a brand have to be designed for the long run. Marketing plans have to be laid out in a way that it is possible to determine the return-on-investment and to allocate it to the brand. Of course, all this asks for strict discipline and a comprehensive knowledge of brand and marketing performances. This all starts with the determination of brand and product profiles and their positioning on the market. It requires a deep understanding of what constitutes a brand, because only then it can be determined, what it can achieve. The determination of the brand value return requires the knowledge of effort and application.

In the beginning stands the knowledge of the value of the brand. If you know what a brand is worth, you can follow the development of the value; as it is the case with stocks.

In many businesses, brand value is a kind of “concealed asset”. We think this should be changed, if this is indeed the case. Brands are no concealed asset. Just as well as the real estate value of a business is being applied gainfully, the same should be the case with the brand. Actually, brands should be taken out of the general business assets and moved to associated companies which deal exclusively with brand utilization. The business purpose of a brand utilization company is the achievement of brand performance.

This path, suggested by us for many years, to take brands out of the concealed assets and to achieve performance, is being taken more and more often, especially by businesses with international and global character.

Companies for the commercial exploitation of brands are even then valued highly, when companies are being bought or sold. When a family sells a brand business of the same name, it is advisable to verify, if the business is being sold without the name and to leave the name and the brands to the buyer via a brand utilization company. In this manner, the business can be carried on under its name and the brands of the same name, while the owner of the name retains a value which has often become a notion over the years.

We consult businesses in all questions of brand performance. As consultants, we are at the disposal of banks, investors and heirs.