As pop music aficionados will tell you, a band is far more than the sum of its members. Big pop group names still tour the clubs and pubs of Britain well after the last original musician has left. Fights between managers and musicians over who really owns a band's identity continue in courtrooms all over the world.

And if CEOs were asked which one corporate asset they would take with them when leaving an organisation, chances are that the majority would choose their company's brand. The value of brands such as Virgin, Microsoft and Coca-Cola cannot be over-estimated.

In the e-business age, brand value has once again come under the spotlight. Companies that have long led the world in terms of brand strength are struggling to transfer that value to the virtual world. You can be a top ten global player in the traditional business paradigm but you need to work very hard to ensure that you build a cyber-presence that is not diluted in the eyes of customers and shareholders.

Yet that's exactly what is happening, according to a study by research group Forrester. It says that favourite brands such as Nike and Levi's are not registering enough traffic to show up on internet audience ratings.

But it's not just traditional companies that are struggling. A hefty slice of capital investment funds is devoted to making everybody aware of the latest new dot.com on the block, via public relations and mass media advertising.

The challenge is that customers shopping on the internet are driven not by brand loyalty but low prices and excellent customer service. According to Forrester, 73% of satisfied online book purchasers will buy their next book from another internet vendor. And even when organisations do manage to build a relationship with on-line customers, it can be wrecked in a moment by poor service and missed delivery dates.

The rules of marketing and brand management have changed because of e-commerce. The customer is in the driving seat. It won't be too long before customers routinely publish a requirement on the web and invite suppliers to bid for the business.

Will brands still be important in this new paradigm? The answer is yes, for two reasons. The psychological response to a brand will always be driven by more than just a low price. Given three options for a mortgage, all at the same price and with the same conditions, how will a customer choose?

The second reason is that despite the massive impact of e-commerce, there are more communications channels than the internet. Customers are unlikely to commit to large purchases like a house or car without a visit or test drive.

History has proven that the brands that survive long-term are those which build recognition early. This is why Amazon and Yahoo are investing massive sums today, so they can reap the benefits of brand leadership for years into the future.

There are two main challenges associated with communicating a brand globally. The first is that no single company can manage a global sales and distribution network on its own. A company that sells "physical" rather than "digital" products will work with partners who specialise in a niche vertical or geographical marketplace. It is vital that those partners are seen as an extension of the core company, and that sales materials follow corporate standards and "look and feel".

Partners focused on niche markets will understandably want to ensure that marketing materials are relevant to their prospective customers. When it comes to brand management, organisations such as car manufacturers and electronics companies need to "think global", but allow their partners to "act local".

With new software tools, companies can now build electronic libraries of company materials on a central website. Partners can access templates using a browser and produce customised versions to be printed locally. This means they have a bespoke range of materials that still conform to agreed standards and designs.

Companies taking this approach have identified a number of further benefits. First, they can avoid going through the laborious process of approving designs for leaflets, brochures and advertisements for each country. Instead, they can get broad agreement on options that can be used to meet local requirements.

The second benefit is that companies save time and money by simplifying the logistics process. Ordering, printing and delivering documentation is transformed from a time-consuming central function to a quick and simple local routine. Organisations can also support highly targeted, short-run marketing campaigns.

But the key benefit is that while customers can deal with a large organisation almost on a personal basis, the organisation itself strengthens its brand and image.

While there isn't a sales director in the land who doesn't recognise the commercial potential of the web, the marketing director is still struggling to ensure that the web does not dilute the brand he or she has fought so hard to build.

Marrying these two propositions will be the aim of every company that hopes to achieve success in the internet age.

Richard Watney is CEO of leading edge technology company Elateral

Challenge: Net shoppers are driven not by loyalty but price