Building and Leveraging Market-Based Assets to Drive Marketplace Performance and Value

Managers must understand that marketing initiatives generate market-based assets – which have considerable value in and of themselves. These assets also have enduring value-in-use. They can be leveraged to provide marketplace results that fit with company strategy. Positive market performance, in turn, positively impacts cash flow dynamics and shareholder value. Companies must
invest time, money, and energy in developing valuable market-based assets – a perspective that is often at odds with the accounting classification of most marketing activities as "expenses." It is important to recognize that what is considered "expense" is rarely nurtured. Therefore, senior managers must maintain internal books and metrics that recognize and catalog these assets as well as their benefits. Failure to do so will result in sub-optimal market performance, destruction of these assets, and reduced shareholder value.