Marketing Investment and Intangible Brand Capital

Bart J. Bronnenberg, Jean-Pierre Dubé and Chad Syverson

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2022, vol. 36, issue 3, 53-74

Abstract: US companies invested over $500 billion in 2021 in intangible brand capital, over 2% of GDP. During the past decade, US companies have also been growing their internal marketing capabilities, an often overlooked source of human capital. We discuss the private and social benefits of these intangible brand capital stocks. While the private returns to companies are fairly clear, the academic literature has been divided over the social benefits and costs of advertising and promotion, the two key investment vehicles. We also discuss the implications of brand capital for measured productivity.

JEL-codes: D24 D33 E22 E23 G31 M31 M37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Working Paper: Marketing Investment and Intangible Brand Capital (2022)
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DOI: 10.1257/jep.36.3.53

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