Why do some companies exhibit long-term financial growth while their competitors show erratic or declining performance? Value Creation: The Power of Brand Equity is a framework for success that empowers CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, investors, and other stakeholders to better understand and manage their firmas most valuable assetatheir brands. Everyone who reads this book will develop a much deeper understanding of brands and brand equity, how they create meaning and value, and how they can be leveraged to improve long term financial performance. When a firm's values are in alignment with their brand's promise, value is created in the form of brand equity, and that brand equity can be leveraged to drive sustainable competitive advantage and superior financial performance. Measurement and brand performance tracking are key. The authors demonstrate a measurement system that allows the brand owner to measure brand value and brand equity and diagnose a brandas strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace. Ron Strauss and Bill Neal each bring 35-plus years of in-the-trenches marketing and marketing research observations and experiences with some of the world's leading companies. Their ideas and concepts are new and powerful, and are sure to stimulate much thought and discussion on the part of practitioners, academics and students. Best of all, Neal and Strauss show the reader how to improve performance in a way that is understandable and actionable.