Internet search giant Google has topped the BrandFinance Global 500 list of the world’s top brands. It was ranked the most valuable brand in the world at $44.3 billion, edging Microsoft ($42.8 billion) into second place.
Coca-Cola dropped out of the top 10 for the first time ($25.8 billion) and BP suffered a $3.4-billion loss, which caused it to fall 53 places.
Facebook entered the table at 285th place, with a brand value of $3.7 billion.
American companies continued to dominate the index as US brands constituted 13 of the top 20 and 26 of the top 500.
Even as the top tier contained several brands that have existed for decades — IBM, Bank of America, HSBC — the world’s increasing dependence on the Internet was reflected by Google’s top position. Five of the top 10 largest growers are technology-related companies.
About Google, the report said the company had repeatedly undertaken ventures that were comparatively un-commercial but had a positive impact on its brand rating (AAA+). “These actions include developing services help rescue efforts following the natural disasters in New Zealand and Japan and its growing not-for-profit arm,” it said.
Apple’s success continued as it moved up 12 places, supported by innovative design, a very loyal consumer base and well-executed marketing activities. Walmart was one of the few brands to actually increase its brand value during the banking crisis due to its well defined, value-oriented proposition. Its value dropped slightly but, due to its overall size, its marginal loss (12 per cent) meant it also became one of the largest losers for 2011.
Nokia suffered the largest fall in brand value at $9.9 billion. The company has struggled in the smartphone market, a victim of Apple’s success, although the partnership with Microsoft may help to revive their combined fortunes. The monetisation of the world’s largest social networking site, Facebook, remains contentious and its product diversification strategy remains relatively opaque, but there is little doubt concerning the brand’s huge popularity, its effectiveness in entering new markets and stratospheric levels of consumer usage.
David Haigh, CEO of BrandFinance, said: ‘‘The rise of the technology brands has been expected for some time, although Nokia’s fall shows that it is tough to stay at the forefront of such a dynamic industry. Over the last couple of years, we have found that, across many leading companies, senior management are increasingly using brand valuation dashboards to monitor the health of their brands throughout the year in order to make better informed strategic marketing decisions. This trend is likely to continue as the sheer size of these brand values becomes impossible to ignore.’’
