(You say tomato…)
It seems that the term ‘brand asset management’ has been adopted by a two distinct practitioner camps in recent years, leading to some confusion of the term’s definition, or more importantly, to whom its problems should be tasked. Companies in both the technology and creative industries release press on the subject and all have their respective brand asset management solutions.
Essentially, the broader term appears to belong to the academics of brand strategy, most notably Scott Davis in his book “Brand Asset Management: Driving Profitable Growth Through Your Brands” (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series, 2002). In this realm, brand is recognised as amongst a firm’s most valuable assets, which requires careful management in order to maximise brand value and draw consumers in.
However, the term brand asset management has also found its place in the terminology of software engineering companies, to refer more specifically to a range of Digital Asset Management features for ensuring brand compliance throughout marcomms production and delivery. In this definition, technologists respond to the very practical need identified by Davis to ensure that “all communications coming from your company deliver a consistent message to consumers…must reflect the brand value, persona and vision.”
To effect a cohesive brand strategy across a modular organisation, brand managers must maintain some control over marketing communications at the point of production and an ongoing dialogue with those responsible for brand execution, namely designers, copy writers and producers, both staff and external agencies.