This paper shows how the use of consumer based equity measures within a discounted cash flow framework can create a means for both finance and marketing to understand the full benefit of past brand building activities. It also shows how impact of future marketing investment strategies can be estimated using the same framework. The author argues that such frameworks should provide the opportunity for finance and marketing to better understand each other and as a result have a more profitable dialogue.
One of the on-going frustrations marketers have expressed about brand tracking research is 'given these results, what action should I take?' In part, this frustration stems from the inability to predict behavior from attitudes and perceptions, but it also comes from the general nature of brand attributes or perceived value measures like trust, reliability, outstanding service, leadership, modernity, etc. McCann Brand Clout Research attempts to take the actionability gap head on. By assessing consumer response to marketing strategy across the complete marketing communications spectrum it provides explicit guidance on where future marketing action would be most beneficial to the brand. In doing so, it addresses the challenges and opportunities of today's multi-channel marketing environment.