Defining and measuring the “Market for Brands”: Are emerging economies catching up?

Brands are ever more visible and central to the functioning of modern economies. Firms, institutions, government and non-governmental actors as part of civil society spend an everincreasing amount on the right branding of their organization, and/or their products. The demand for trademarks has thus grown substantially. Mirroring this trend, “Markets for brands” - as defined in this paper - play an important but underappreciated economic role in today’s global economy. Trademarks and brands are increasingly the object of commercial transactions; they can be purchased, franchised or licensed. The ability to use Market for Brands allows companies to diversify their business, to access competences, and to generate new revenues without substantial investments. In recent years, firms in emerging economies have been more active users of these markets by licensing or acquiring established global brands. Yet, despite their apparent importance, little is known about the size of these markets, and how relevant these are for firms in countries with different stages of development. This paper first defines and provides a taxonomy for different brand markets. Second, it analyzes the economic rationale of such markets. Finally, it provides evidence on their magnitude, also assessing their relative importance of the different brand-related transaction types in developed and emerging economies alike.