Apple beats Google to be named world's most valuable brand

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/may/28/apple-google-most-valuable-brand

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The launch of the iPhone 6 and its smartwatch helped Apple to easily overtake Google and reclaim the mantle of world’s most powerful brand, according to a survey.

Apple has been named number one in the annual Brandz global brand power list, with a 67% increase in estimated value to $247bn (£161bn), while Facebook proved to be the biggest mover among the top 100 doubling its brand value to more than $70bn.

Apple’s brand value growth surge saw it topple Google which fell to second place in the list, with a modest 9% boost to $173.6bn.

Amanda Phillips, UK head of marketing at Millward Brown which publishes the report, said that it was Apple’s latest upgrade to its globally popular iPhone that boosted the brand in the 2015 report.

“Though the Apple Watch has proved extremely popular it is the success of the iPhone 6 that has been the main driver of Apple’s brand value growth,” she said. “The key to success for winning brands is to define themselves through innovation, differentiation and purpose, as in the case of Apple.”

The biggest mover in terms of growth was Facebook which saw a 99% increase in brand value from $35.7bn to $71bn.

Facebook’s jump from 21st to 12th place on the list was fuelled by its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp and the huge success it has seen in attracting advertising spend globally.

The report shows the continuing rise of Chinese brands, with e-commerce company Alibaba making its debut at 13th, worth $66bn, one place ahead of Amazon which fell four places to be worth $62.2bn.

Walmart, which has 11,000 stores worldwide, is ranked at 26th worth $35bn.

In total there are 14 Chinese brands now in the top 100 including Tencent, which runs social networks, ISPs and online gaming portals in China, at in 11th at $76.5bn; China Mobile at 15th worth $59.9bn; and search engine Baidu at 21st at $40bn.

The highest-ranked UK brand in the top 100 was Vodafone, at 23rd, up 6% to $38.4bn.

Embattled retailer Tesco, which reported a record £6.4bn loss, fell completely out of the top 100 with a 37% fall in value to $9.4bn.

In the 2014 list the retailer had come in at 66th position globally with a brand value of $14.8bn.

Only five UK companies made the top 100 global list in 2015, with BT the biggest mover ,up 17% to $17.9bn ranking it 58th.

Top 10 most valuable global brands 2015

1. Apple, $246bn, up 67%2. Google, $173.6bn, up 9%3. Microsoft, $115bn, up 28%4. IBM, $93.9bn, down 13%5. Visa, $91.9bn, up 16%6. AT&T, $89.4bn, up 15%7. Verizon, $86bn, up 36%8. Coca Cola, $83.8bn, up 4%9. McDonald’s, $81bn, down 5%10. Marlboro, $80bn, up 19%