The 2008 Best Global Brands list from Interbrand is out. The were few changes in the top ten -  Coke is still at #1, IBM and Microsoft swapped places at 2 and 3 and the most notable change -  Google jumped from #20 last year to #10 bumping Mercedes to #11.

P&G saw a couple of their brands improve this year. Gillette moved from 16 to 14 and Duracell climbed one spot from 89 to 88.

No surprise that the financial brands took the biggest tumble on the list. Citi took a 14 percent drop in brand value; Morgan Stanley a 16 percent drop and Merrill Lynch took a hit of 21 percent decline in brand value.

How does Interbrand figure out the brand value?

To qualify each brand must derive at least a third of its earnings outside its home country, be recognizable beyond its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data. 

They evaluate the brand value in much the same way other corporate assets are valued—on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future using a combination of analysts' projections, company financial documents, and their own analysis to arrive at a value of those earnings. The brand values are based on data collected during the 12 months prior to June 30, 2008.

I wonder if they have started to factor in the Google effect and include online reputation and visibility?

Many studies have shown how important your online visibility is to brand value..

The flawed accounting practice that ignored brands' asset capabilities is waning, says James Gregory, author of “Leveraging the Corporate Brand.”

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is beginning to understand that "fair value" accounting for the brand is the only way to accurately report the one asset in the company that has the ability to grow in value, while all other assets only depreciate. And boards of directors are now demanding management report the statuses and values of their corporate brands.

Gregory goes on to explain why the CMO post is the perfect training ground for a CEO.

1. "Fair-value" accounting methods will emphasize corporate growth on intangible assets

2. CMOS are responsible for managing both product brands and the corporate brand

3. CMOS gain a wider point of view of the corporation

4. CMOS have inquiring minds and are willing to try new things that will enhance the business

5. Boards are getting more interested and responsible for examining the whole corporate panorama

What I don’t see in this article is any mention of Online Reputation Management and the necessity to monitor and manage the conversations around your brand. Dell is the poster child for how online conversations can affect the value of your brand, but there are other case studies too.

If CMOs are in-training to be CEOs, and brand value is the yardstick with boards  demanding that management report the status and value of their corporate brands, they'd better get their wits around social media and online reputation monitoring.

Perhaps we'll see some CMOs at our Social Media Bootcamp

A recent survey conducted by Buzz Marketing, and sponsored by Marketing Profs and Trackur, shows that more than half of the BtoB marketers polled aren't adequately prepared for an online crisis.

Although the sample universe was small, it is an indication of what BtoB marketers are thinking and doing.

• 60% say they have a good understanding of their  current reputation
• 63% don't have a blogging policy in place
• 53% place strategic importance on measuring and monitoring their reputation in 2008
• Only 42% have a strategic plan in place to manage their online reputation
• More than half (54%) are not monitoring tradiitional media using services like Burrells/Luce or Bacons
• 63% are monitoring social media and blogs with free online services
• Only 33% use a paid subscription service to monitor online content
• 54% say they are leveraging social networks ike Facebook and LInkedIn
• 45% are monitoring their brand on these social  networks
• 71% say they are not developing widgets that can be added to social sites

Recommendations from the survey:

Make measuring and monitoring your online reputation a strategic priority. 

People are online and they are talking about brands - and it's not only consumer brands. 

Many other studies have shown that BtoB buyers are just as likely to research online before purchase and they are sharing intelligence and information in niche social networks.

Dont get caught with your pants down.