mation shouldnt shock you. Just think of the equity the company has     built over the past several decades with its household-name brands, including Jell-O, Cool Whip, Grey Poupon, and Maxwell House. It boasts leading brand names in categories mainstream America cant live without-what would we do without Miracle Whip, Velveeta, Shake n Bake, and Kool-Aid? Generations of kids have been raised on those four staples alone. What makes Kraft so cool is the long-term dominance its brands have commanded in the marketplace, their effect on overall financial return, and their role in driving long-term strategy for the company. Krafts brand focus exemplifies our conclusion that the most valuable assets on a balance sheet often dont even appear on the balance sheet-a companys brands. Brand equity, sometimes measured by the excess of a firms market capitalization over its net worth, represents a long-term investment in market share, wallet share, and heart share. And as the legendary bands featured in this book show, the greater the heart share or emotional connection between fan and brand, the more likely that brand is to be adopted into consumers lives. The ultimate cheese-and-cracker combo was born in the merger of Kraft and Nabisco to reign as the largest branded food and bever- age company in North America, with revenues of nearly $30 billion. Kraft brought the worlds number-one brand of cheese, along with leading brands of salad dressings, packaged dinners, barbecue sauce, and other products to the table, while Nabisco brought with it the worlds leading cookie and cracker brands. The marriage, which is expected to result in cost savings of $600 million a year by 2004, tran- scends languages, permeates cultures, and sells in 150 nations around the globe.     Pro moting Individual Identities: Marketing One Collective Brand   Many brands featured in this book are single brands, firms whose corporate identity is closely tied to one brand. Unlike JetBlue, Wal- Mart, and Madonna, however, Kraft is a family of brands that holds the number-one share position in 21 of 25 product categories in the United States and internationally. The company owns over 150 brands that, according to Nielson data, are so culturally relevant that at least one can be found in 99 percent of U.S. households at any given time.     Reading like the Forty Licks greatest hits CD, Kraft brands include Tang, DiGiorno, Tombstone, Knudsen, Cracker Barrel, Bakers, Calumet, Shake n Bake, Grey Poupon, Cream of Wheat, Milk-Bone, Jell-O, Balance and Oasis Bars, Sure-Jell, Claussen, Minute Maid, Good Seasons, Seven Seas, A-1, Chips Ahoy!, Ritz, SnackWells, Triscuits, Zwieback, Corn Nuts, Altoids, Toblerone, Life Savers-and