Why boards should pay attention to brand valuation

James Gregory wrote in BOARDMEMBER.com  ten reasons why brand valuation matters for boards of directors.  Brand valuation ….

1. legitimizes investment
2. provides an objective measure of effort
3. creates accountability
4. aligns leadership
5. identifies growth opportunities
6. predicts market shifts
7. identifies competitive opportunity and advantage
8. informs M&A or strategic alliances
9. creates licensing opportunities
10. helps define the value of other intangibles

Now this from 24/7 Wall St.

Every year 24/7 Wall St. publishes a list of brands they predict will soon disappear … as in have a value of zero. This year’s list leads with MySpace, a company Rupert Murdoch once thought was worth half-a-billion dollars. The timing of this couldn't have provided more irony, as the next day’s Wall Street Journal reported Justin Timberlake and a private equity group have joined forces to purchase MySpace (for a reported $35M) and exploit it as a music-oriented social media site, one which connects artists with their fan base.

A report from comScore shows that at its height of popularity in December 2008, MySpace had nearly 76 million unique visitors. In May of this year that figure was just below 35 million. (Is that a new valuation metric…$1 per unique visitor per month?)

Also on the list this year are Sears, Sony Ericsson and Saab (which  announced it would have trouble meeting June’s payroll).