Google has been ranked the world’s most powerful brand for the second straight year in the third BrandZ annual ranking from Millward Brown, which surveyed more than 1 million consumers about 50,000 brands.
The combined value of all brands in the BrandZ Top 100 increased by 21% from US$1.6 trillion in 2007 to $1.94 trillion in 2008, more than double the increase experienced the previous year. Following Google, for the second year running, with a brand value of $86.1bn was GE at ($71.4bn) and Microsoft ($70.8bn). Rounding out the top ten were Coca-Cola, China Mobile, IBM, Apple, McDonalds, Nokia and Marlboro. The top European brand was Nokia while Google’s main competitor in many areas, and Microsoft takeover target, Yahoo! was ranked 62nd with a brand value of $11.465bn, a decline 13 per cent. This compares to increases for Google and Microsoft of 30 percent and 29 percent respectively.
“This year’s brand ranking demonstrates the importance of investing in brands, especially in times of market turmoil. Strong brands generate superior returns and protect businesses from risk,” said Joanna Seddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor. “Our data shows that strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.”
The technology sector (including mobile operators), which accounted for 28 of the top 100 brands, outperformed all other categories in this year’s BrandZ Ranking, with a brand value growth of $187.5bn. This is more than half of the Top 100’s total increase.
The BrandZ 2008 Top 100 Ranking Report is available from www.brandz.com/upload/BrandZ-2008-RankingReport.pdf while the news release is available from www.brandz.com/upload/BrandZ-2008-PressRelease.pdf.