Apple ‘Most Valuable Brand', Report Says

A brand consulting company has named Apple as the most valuable brand in the world, according to its annual report. 

The Best Global Brands report from Interbrand, a branch of Omnicon Group, named Apple as No. 1, while the previous No. 1, Coca-Cola, has fallen to No. 3. Last year Apple held the No. 2 spot. It's the first time since 2000 that the soft drink company hasn't been No. 1, according to the New York Times.

So why Apple? Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand said that it was only a "matter of time" with its $98.3 billion brand, which rose 28 percent from last year. Coca-Cola only had a 2 percent rise to $79.2 billion. Also add that Apple is in the tech sector, a hot industry, and Coca-Cola didn't have much of a chance.

That may reflect why Google rose from fourth place to second, fourth place went to IBM, and fifth place to Microsoft. Samsung was No. 8, while  Intel placed 9th.

However, not all tech companies tasted success. BlackBerry, which was No. 93 last year, has fallen off the list. Nokia, which was No. 18 last year, fell to 57th place, the largest fall in the report.

Interbrand lists its methodology for the ranking of companies as the following: 

  • At least 30 percent of revenues must come from outside the brand’s home region
  • It must have a presence in at least three major continents, as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets 
  • There must be sufficient publicly available data on the brand’s financial performance
  • Economic profit must be expected to be positive over the longer term, delivering a return above the brand’s operating and financing costs
  • The brand must have a public profile and awareness above and beyond its own marketplace.
It seems that those brands that top the list must be doing economically well, and by all accounts, both Apple and Google are doing well with dragon hoards of cash as well as serious revenue. It seems that only about one-fifth, that's 20 percent, of Interbrand's criteria is about visibility and virality.
 
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