Apple and Google world’s most valuable brands for fifth year

Apple and Google have have been named as the world’s two most valuable brands for the fifth consecutive year in the Interbrand 2017 Best Global Brands report. The two tech giants were joined by three brands that cracked the top 100 for the first time: Ferrari (#88), Netflix (#78) and Salesforce (#84). The report, now in its 18th year, based its ranking on a brand’s financial performance (in terms of products and services), the influence it has on consumer choice and the strength it has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company. This methodology was the first brand methodology to be ISO certified. Apple’s brand value grew by 3% to $184,154 million, with Google increasing its brand value by 6% to $141,703 million. Microsoft came in at third with double-digit growth. In order, the rest of the top 10 is: Coca Cola, Amazon, Samsung, Toyota, Facebook, Mercedes-Benz and IBM. Growth in a changing world The report focused on trying to analyse how brands grow in a changing world, and how “using that using technology at scale to deliver intimate human experiences, will help drive economic growth value”. Combined together, the 100 brands in the list have a total value $1,871,730 million, which is an increase of 4.2% from 2016. The five brands that exhibited the most growth were Facebook (with a staggering 48%), Amazon (29%), Adobe (29%), Adidas (17%) and Starbucks (16%) Four sectors dominate the top 100, with over half of the brands coming from the automotive (16), technology (15), financial services (12) and fast-moving consumer goods (9). Retail was the top growing sector with 19%, followed by sporting goods (10%). “We are living in one of the most exciting periods of change­­—societal, technological, industrial—that impacts every aspect of commerce and life,” said Jez Frampton, Global Chief Executive Officer of Interbrand. “In this ever-shifting context, growth becomes more challenging, which is why businesses need brands more than ever. The Best Global Brands understand that brands are the platform for growth.”