Remember when brand management was as straightforward as promoting a single product or service? Today, brands mingle so much-McDonald's and Disney partner on promotional giveaways, Subaru markets an L.L. Bean edition of the Outback, Toys R Us and Amazon.com jointly launch an online toy store-a whole system of brands can make or break a product and a career. Once content to "mind their own brands," marketers need a radically different game plan to succeed in this complex marketplace. In The Infinite Asset, Sam Hill and Chris Lederer unveil an ingenious strategy-the Brand Portfolio Approach-that exponentially increases the value of brands by exploding them beyond the boundaries of their division or even their parent company. The authors argue that a company's brand portfolio must reflect how the target customer actually views the brand; it must encompass every brand-whether the company owns it or not-that affects the buying decision. Based on thirty years of consulting experience and extensive research across industries, the authors introduce a breakthrough 3-D mapping tool-the brand portfolio molecule-that lets managers visualize all elements of a brand and how they interact to create new value. Compelling case studies apply the model to the brand strategies of companies including 3M, Cadillac, Miller Beer, and Yahoo!. In addition, a comprehensive set of implementation tools guide marketers in using the model to: * identify the "lead brand" in the eyes of the customer * find and fill product holes * decide whether to extend, prune, or reposition a brand * arrive at the right number of brands * determine how and when to use a corporate brand as an umbrella * allocate marketing funds most effectively * trace brand value using informative metrics * convert brand equity into shareholder value and more The first to provide a holistic model for brand value creation and management, this book is the must-have guide to leveraging every company's infinite asset for lasting competitive advantage.