Once again, Apple has been crowned most valuable brand in the world by the annual BrandZ ranking. Despite the iPhone maker’s shares taking a 35% tumble, the BrandZ ranking reported its brand value sitting at $185 billion.
In a statement, Nick Cooper, managing director of global research agency Millward Brown Optimor, said that “despite a more competitive marketplace and other challengers nipping at its heels, Apple’s ability to maintain its number-one position demonstrates the value that having a strong brand brings to business. People still love the brand regardless of its stock price.”
Millward Brown Optimor conducts the study each year on behalf of its corporate parent WPP.
Samsung, Apple’s closet competitor, showed a 51% growth (compared to Apple’s 1%) with a reported brand value of $21 billion. Samsung ranked 30th in the report.
“Vying for leadership in the smartphone market, Samsung fueled its huge increase in brand value by balancing a remarkable period of innovation with growing market share,” said Cooper, also noting that Samsung spent an $1.6 billion more on advertising in the last year, which he said contributed to the brand’s increased market share.
IBM was knocked out of the number-two spot by Google, while Visa entered the top 10 after sitting at number 15 last year. The top 10 brands can be seen below.
| Rank | Category | Brand | Brand Value | Brand Value | Rank (2012) |
| 2013 ($M) | Change | ||||
| 1 | Technology | Apple | 185,071 | +1% | 1 |
| 2 | Technology | 113,669 | +5% | 3 | |
| 3 | Technology | IBM | 112,536 | -3% | 2 |
| 4 | Fast Food | McDonald’s | 90,256 | -5% | 4 |
| 5 | Soft drinks | Coca-Cola | 78,415 | +6% | 6 |
| 6 | Telecoms | AT&T | 75,507 | +10% | 8 |
| 7 | Technology | Microsoft | 69,814 | -9% | 5 |
| 8 | Tobacco | Marlboro | 69,383 | -6% | 7 |
| 9 | Credit cards | Visa | 56,060 | +46% | 15 |
| 10 | Telecoms | China Mobile | 55,368 | +18% | 10 |
The full ranking can be downloaded from Millward Brown.
For a look at the Marketing/Leger Corporate Reputation survey, which ranks the top 100 most reputable brands in Canada based on a poll of 2,100 Canadians, pick up the May 20 issue of Marketing. Subscribe today.
