The Brand Finance Institute is the think tank division of the brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance plc. With an interest in all issues surrounding brands, their latest bugbear is the lack of true independence within brand valuation.

One of the requirements of last year’s ISO on monetary brand valuation was that brand valuers must be independent. However as long as large marketing services firms continue to value the brands which they earn the bulk of their revenues building, the institute feel that independence is something yet to be achieved.

To address this issue, the Institute is launching its campaign to encourage independent brand valuers to lobby for a higher standard of transparency and independence.

The official launch will be at the Brand Finance Annual Forum on 26 October, after which they will be collecting signatures to lobby regulators. The delegates of previous forums have included CEOs of business to business and consumer facing brands; marketing, communications and brand strategy professionals and politicians.

David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance and Chairman, Brand Finance Institute comments: “For conflict of interest reasons auditors are now barred from providing consultancy and valuation services to their audit clients. In our view large marketing services firms should also be banned from valuing the brands which they earn the bulk of their revenues creating and building.”