Journal of Business & Economic Policy

Brand Insurance through Responsible Action
Scott Takacs, Michael Hitchins

Abstract
Good brands are significant assets, with the average value of each of the top 100 brands is $15 Billion, and some brands work significantly more. As with any valuable asset, brands should be insured against loss. Brand insurance has companies perform and publicize responsible action to “insure” themselves from inevitable branddamaging events. The direct benefit of these actions makes brand insurance both brandbuilding and brand protecting. A reputation of responsible action can drastically reduce the impact of inevitable brand-damaging events. Responsible actions also have direct benefits to the company, community, and individuals. Ongoing positive action is most effective when it involves the brand’s stakeholders, and has third-party validation and support. Companies claim to understand the need for social responsibility, but often vastly underutilize their potential. Research indicates that a programmatic approach to responsible action linked to a brand increases benefits to the brand, company, and community.

Full Text: PDF