Creating Brand Equity and Driving Growth, consider the following

The beginning of the 21^st century was not kind to 165-year-old Pabst Brewing Company. Revenue from its portfolio of legacy brands including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee, Lone Star, Rainier, Strohs, and Schlitzdeclined from an overall barrelage of 9.5 million in 2000 to 6.5 million in 2005. In response, new management set the company on a new course, including contract brewing with carefully selected partners and a new emphasis on its distributor network. Perhaps the most important strategic asset and advantage, management felt, was the companys trademarks: Without a doubt our greatest asset is our brands. They have strong residual awareness. They have equity. They are authentic. We have brands that have stood the test of time. New brands dont have credentialsstreet credlike our brands do. Its all about leveraging the power of our brands against a focused consumer target with a unique brand message. New grassroots marketing for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer thus emphasized its genuine, no-nonsense qualities in nonmainstream locations such as tattoo parlors, snowboarding venues and pro shops, and underground music scenes. Positive word of mouththere was essentially no advertisinggave the brand an authentic retro-chic image. PBR, as it became known as, was suddenly hip. The brands resurgence was marked by a 25 percent increase in sales in 2009 that far exceeded even other sub-premium brews.

Consider how the above example illustrates brand equity. Can you think of any additional illustrative examples? (If not, search for one!) How else might you define and describe brand equity?