Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Brands are often seen as one of the most valuable assets for firms. Yet the answer to "how much is a brand worth?" is surprisingly elusively. For example, measures of brand value using consumer surveys (customer-based brand equity; CBBE) often yield estimates dramatically lower than those estimated from cash flow data (financial-based brand equity; FBBE). As one writer puts it, "perhaps the only thing that has not been reached with regard to brand equity is a conclusion". Using a new model based on recent breakthroughs in the neuroscience of consumer choice, we show how and why standard CBBE measures systematically understate the brand value of (especially) well-known firms. Moreover, these results provide actionable insights into challenges and tradeoffs made in managing brand equity.
Brands are often seen as one of the most valuable assets for firms. Yet the answer to "how much is a brand worth?" is surprisingly elusively. For example, measures of brand value using consumer surveys (customer-based brand equity; CBBE) often yield estimates dramatically lower than those estimated from cash flow data (financial-based brand equity; FBBE). As one writer puts it, "perhaps the only thing that has not been reached with regard to brand equity is a conclusion". Using a new model based on recent breakthroughs in the neuroscience of consumer choice, we show how and why standard CBBE measures systematically understate the brand value of (especially) well-known firms. Moreover, these results provide actionable insights into challenges and tradeoffs made in managing brand equity.
