The advertising industry is the most intangible sector globally, with virtually all of its aggregate value coming from intangible assets, reveals the 2015 GIFT Study from BrandFinance. The study examines the portion of enterprise value that represents intangibles (brands, people, know-how, relationships, and other intellectual property).

Big picture: The study covers more than 58,000 companies quoted in over 120 countries and 120 stock exchanges. The total enterprise value of all entities studied was $71 trillion at the end of 2014. Of this value, $33.5 trillion represents net tangible assets. The rest is the value of disclosed intangibles ($11 trillion) and “undisclosed value” ($26.5 trillion).

In addition to advertising, sectors with the highest proportion of intangibles are pharmaceuticals (91% intangible value) and media (90%). At the other end of the spectrum are oil and gas (97% tangible), electric (79%), and banking (78%).

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