Apple, Google remain most valuable brands

New Delhi: Silicon Valley is home to the two most valuable brands in the world. For the fourth consecutive year, Apple and Google topped the annual Interbrand Best Global Brands Report, released Wednesday.

The report estimated the value of brand Apple at $178.1 billion, up 5% from last year. Value of brand Google was estimated at $133.2 billion, an increase of 11% from last year.

Beverages brand Coca-Cola stood third in the list at an estimated brand value of $73.1 billion, a 7% dip in brand value from last year. The top 10 brands in the list included Microsoft, Toyota, IBM, Samsung, Amazon, Mercedes-Benz and GE.

According to the list by the global brand consultancy, the world’s five top growing brands included Facebook, Amazon, LEGO, Nissan and Adobe. Brand Facebook witnessed the maximum increase in value at $32.5 billion, an increase of 48%, followed by Amazon.com (33%), LEGO (25%), Nissan (22%) and Adobe (21%), according to the report.

Automotive brand Tesla (rank 89) and luxury brand Dior (rank 100) made it to the list of top 100 most valuable global brands for the first time.

The combined value of the top 100 brands stood at $1,796.3 billion, up 4.8% from 2015.

“It’s clear the best global brands are not just weathering change, but driving it. They understand their anatomy of growth is complex, unique and personal; they look inward and outward, expand into new markets, and create better experiences to grow their brands and businesses,” Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s global chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Technology is the most valuable and top growing sector in the list. Cumulative value of technology brands in the list rose 8.3% to $623.1 billion from 2015. With 14 brands in the list, technology is the second most dominant sector in this year’s Best Global Brands Report.

Automotive and technology companies, with 29 positions (combined), dominated the list of world’s top 100 most valuable brands for 2016. Retail is the most growing sector with 19% increase, followed by the sporting and luxury sectors — each witnessing 10% rise, according to the Interbrand report.

“Top global brands are now recognising that there is power in enabling communities of people with an innate passion for creating to start developing the next generation of applications and tools. The idea that tech leaders are now investing in people—as early as when children can cognitively start interacting with mobile applications—to educate and cultivate talent, signals to the marketplace that companies are no longer afraid of keeping ideas close to the vest,” said Johnny Trinh, associate technology director at Interbrand.

Interbrand determines rankings and brand valuations based on factors including financial performance of branded products and services, how big a role a brand plays in influencing its consumers’ choice, brand loyalty and a brand’s command over premium pricing.

“There is an increasing shift from businesses leading brands to brands leading businesses. That opens clear avenues of growth. Brands grow businesses by building a strong culture, optimizing structures and governance inside the organization, while anchoring differentiated experiences on the outside,” said Ashish Mishra, managing director at Interbrand India.