Apple & Google top global brands list for third year running
Apple & Google have made it three in a row at the top of Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report, after topping the list for the third year on the trot.
The tech duopoly cemented their status as the world’s most valuable brands with Apple’s valuation surging by 43 per cent over the year to hit $170.3bn whilst Google leapt by 12 per cent to reach $120.3bn.
Further down the list technology firms continued to push aside all competitors with Microsoft inching up one place to claim fourth spot, dislodging IBM into fifth. This meant that the only non-technology brand in the top 5 was Coca-Cola which managed to hold onto third place.
Other notable entrants on this year’s list were Facebook which weighed in at number 23 courtesy of a 54 per cent uplift in its brand valuation to $22bn. Heading in the opposite direction was Volkswagen which slumped four places from the 31st spot it held last year amidst the fallout from an emissions cheating scandal.
Manfredi Ricca, cheif strategy officer at Interbrand told The Drum that the main trends seen in the ranking is driven by changing worlds and technology.
"What we are gradually seeing is that the brands that are dominating the rankings are the brands that are reshaping the way that we actually live and the way we go about our world," he said. "These are brands that have created ecosystems around us such as Google, Apple and Amazon. It's quite interesting because it's brands that are very hard to assocate through a specific sector but in fact what they are doing is putting the customer at the very centre".
Interbrand positions brands on its table based on revenue earned by branded products, the role played by a brand in influencing consumer behaviour and brand loyalty.
Top 10 Global Brands:
Apple
Coca-Cola
Microsoft
IBM
Toyota
Samsung
General Electric
McDonald’s
Amazon