The impact of brands on the Spanish economy and Spanish society

The Report entitled “The impact of brands on the Spanish economy and Spanish society” was released on 21 November in the presence of the Director General of the Spanish Patents and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the President of the Spanish National Association for the Defence of Trademarks (ANDEMA).

The report, commissioned by the OEPM and ANDEMA, was drawn up by researchers in the Marketing Department at the University of Alicante. It aims to quantify the value of brands in the economy and in Spanish society in 2010, covering more than 40 sectors forming part of the Spanish industrial fabric.

The report
From an initial sample of 312,381 firms having at least one employee and turnover in excess of 1,000 euros in 2010, all those having at least two registered brands were analysed (22,177 firms).

The report then studied various aspects -employment, GDP, taxation, exports, R&D, retail, and advertising– considering that brands are the one of the main driving forces for growth and for generating wealth for Spanish society.

Conclusions
The main conclusion is that brands play an important role in the Spanish economy. They are a key factor in the retail sector, generating a turnover of over 400 billion euros (60% of the total), and in Spain’s projection abroad, with exports attributable to brands amounting to over 125.6 billion euros (45% of Spanish exports).

3.867 billion euros were spent on brand advertising (over 75% of total advertising investment).

Brands also play a key role in promoting R&D, with total expenditure on R&D reaching about 4.1 billion euros (55% of all Spanish R&D). Their share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is above 400 billion euros (40% of the Spanish GDP).

Brands bring in tax revenue of 73.5 billion euros (46% of total tax revenue) and 70.5 billion euros in the form of employers’ and workers’ contributions to the Social Security.

Over 6 million employees work for brands (33% of total employment).

Brand value
The value and importance of brands stems from their ability to establish relations of trust between firms and consumers.

From a business point of view, they serve as elements for differentiation and identification, projecting the image and reputation of the firm’s products and services.

In addition, brands offer consumers information, a guarantee, security, quality and image.

From a macroeconomic point of view, brand management and development create wealth and play a very relevant role in the economy of any country.