“The search engine giant beats Microsoft and Apple.”
New York — It is no surprise that once again for the third year in a row, Google Inc. has attained its top spot as the world’s most powerful brands among the list of 100, according to a report released today by market research firm Millward Brown’s annual ranking of top international brands.
Google retained the top spot financially with a surprising value of $86 billion, better than General Electric, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and China Mobile, in a league table that reveals the ever-growing power of technology companies and emerging economies.
While the search engine’s brand name is worth more than $86.1 billion ($94 billion), up 30% on last year, according to the third annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking issued today by global market research and consulting firm, Millward Brown, proves that brands are becoming ever more valuable and powerful in driving business growth.
The collective worth of all brands in the top 100 improved by 21% from $1.6 trillion in 2007 to $1.94 trillion in 2008, more than double the increase experienced the previous year.
The top five brands, topped by Google, included General Electric that took second place with ($71.4 billion), followed by Microsoft ($70.8 billion) and Coca-Cola ($58.2 billion).
China Mobile attained fifth with ($57.2 billion), while IBM reached sixth with ($55.3 billion).
“Two years ago, when Microsoft topped the list, Google ranked seventh.”
The company, which acquired most of its $US16.6 billion ($17.6 billion) in 2007 revenue from ads, is empowering its brand to win more sales in China and other fast-growing economies. Development in China helped international revenue account for over half of sales last quarter, Google said last week. Still, its search engine trails the popularity of Baidu.com in that country.
“To be powerful, a brand has to have a strong relationship with its end consumers,” Nigel Hollis, Millward Brown’s chief global analyst, said. “Google has a brand that speaks to the need for anyone wanting to find what they need in an increasingly complex world.”
“This year’s brand ranking demonstrates the importance of investing in brands, especially in times of market turmoil. Strong brands generate superior returns and protect businesses from risk,” said Joanna Seddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor, in the statement. “Our data shows that strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.”
The position indicates a company’s revenue, the markets in which it competes, consumer attitudes and the brand’s expected contribution to future sales, Hollis said.
Apple Inc., which ranked seventh, valued at ($55.6 billon) one below IBM, broke into the survey’s top 10 for the first time. McDonalds reached to no. 8 at ($49.4 billion), and Marlboro ($37.3 billion) completed the top 10 this year. In addition, for the first time, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry email phone, ranked 51st, made the list at all.
“Eight of the Top 10 brands are based in the U.S.”
According to the report, innovation and brand experience contributed growth in the technology category; strong technology brands included consumer companies like Apple and Google, but also software, B2B and professional services firms.