Nothing better to kick off the work week than some rankings — today’s courtesy of Interbrand. The firm released their annual listing of the world’s most valuable brands.
Once again, Apple finds itself in the top spot, followed by Google, marking the third consecutive year that has shaped up to be the case; Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM have been Top 5 placers for the last half decade.
As has been the recent trend, tech firm have been the list’s most strongly represented business segment. Coca-Cola and McDonald’s were the only non-tech related firms to place in the Top 1o. According to Interbrand’s classification system, 28 of the top 100 were technology firms. Microsoft, IBM, Samsung and Amazon were all in the Top 10, while Intel, Cisco, Oracle, HP, and Facebook all made the Top 25.
If one counts the tech-related firms like Starbucks or General Electric, that list swells to make a full third of the most valuable brands on earth being housed in the tech vertical. Starbucks is the creator of the nation’s arguably most successful mobile payments platform; General Electric is working hard to argue in ads against the idea that it is “not a tech firm.” Arguably they both could be counted with the tech firms, and they aren’t the only ones.
“Because today, business and brands need to happen at the speed of people’s lives, this year’s Top 100 represents those elite brands that best align with people’s priorities and seamlessly integrate into their everyday,” said Interbrand Global Chief Executive Jez Frampton. “It is genuinely exciting to see so many leading brands across so many diverse industries increasingly embrace the role they play in influencing customer choice and building new business models in response to changing norms and testing new ideas to meet the need of shifting consumer mindsets.”
The biggest strides on the list this year were made by Facebook, that saw a six-point skip up in the ratings to accompany a 54 percent increase to its brand value.
PayPal, in its first year on its own, also made a first-time appearance on the list. However, with its placement at 97, it has a ways to go before it catches up to its parent firm, eBay, which is ranked at No. 32.
Lenovo and Huawei both made first appearances on the list this year – though their compatriots over at Alibaba did not, despite being widely expected to make it due to its record-setting IPO. However, since that very big debut, Alibaba has stock price fluctuations – particularly recently – with its wide exposure to the Chinese financial slowdown.
Interbrand’s rankings are derived from measurements in three areas: financial performance, influence and how competitive the brand is in the marketplace.
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