Google (GOOG, news, msgs) is on top, Walt Disney (DIS, news, msgs) is taking a dive and Samsung (SSNLF, news, msgs) is surging as the battle for brand value marches on.
Millward Brown, a research company that helps clients build strong brands, recently released its list of the world's 100 most valuable brands, and most consumers know the top 10 on a first-name basis.
Google’s brand is worth $114 billion, according to Millward Brown. Behind it on the list are the brands of International Business Machines (IBM, news, msgs), worth $86 billion; Apple (AAPL, news, msgs), valued at $83 billion; Microsoft (MSFT, news, msgs), worth $76 billion; Coca-Cola (KO, news, msgs), valued at $67 billion; McDonald's (MCD, news, msgs), worth $66 billion; Altria Group's (MO, news, msgs) Marlboro, with a value of $57 billion; China Mobile (CHL, news, msgs), worth $52 billion; General Electric (GE, news, msgs), valued at $45 billion; and Vodafone (VOD, news, msgs), worth $44 billion. They lead a field whose earnings potential, brand promotion and brand equity inspire one exclamation from consumers and businesses alike: "Gimme!" (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.)
Just for laughs, Millward Brown lumped its brands together as a portfolio and charted them against the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX). Were it an actual portfolio, its 18.5% growth during the past four years would have dwarfed the S&P 500, which declined by 11.5% over the period.
The values of the top brands are also rising. In 2009, 20 of the brands increased their value by 20% or more. Though Samsung (80%), Chinese search site Baidu (BIDU, news, msgs) (62%), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news, msgs) (48%) and Verizon Communications (VZ, news, msgs) (39%) fueled a tech-heavy surge, the rising values of brands such as MasterCard (MA, news, msgs) (57%), Visa (V, news, msgs) (52%) and Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) (29%) reflect the broader role of technology in consumers' lives.
"The most common thread in the list is the pervasiveness of technology in our lives," says Eileen Campbell, Millward Brown's global chief executive. "If your hard drive crashes today, it's like your house burning down 20 years ago."
That doesn't mean that only tech companies are getting it right. Starbucks (SBUX, news, msgs) faced competition from McDonald's and other outlets on its key product, coffee, yet the company adapted and the value of its brand has risen 17%. Red Bull sells exactly one item, its eponymous energy drink, but does it well enough both to crack the top 100 and to improve its standing by 9%.
Conversely, companies whose brand values dropped didn't necessarily do anything wrong. The value of Nokia's (NOK, news, msgs) brand plunged 48% as it lost market share to makers of Web-enabled smart phones. Walt Disney (DIS, news, msgs) was off 35% as the recession hurt attendance at theme parks Disneyland and Disney World and at movies like "Up." Many companies that fell off the list entirely were simply victims of economic circumstance.
"Ikea dropped off the list, and part of that was that people weren't buying furniture much," Campbell says. Home-improvement retailer "Lowe's (LOW, news, msgs) dropped out for that reason, but most of the rest of them didn't have their values drop, but the bottom threshold moved up," she added.
| Brand | Value | Brand | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
$114.2 billion | $13.9 billion | ||
$86.3 billion | $13.8 billion | ||
$83.3 billion | $13.7 billion | ||
$76.1 billion | $13.4 billion | ||
$67.3 billion | $13.0 billion | ||
$66.0 billion | $12.9 billion | ||
$57.0 billion | $12.8 billion | ||
$52.6 billion | $12.7 billion | ||
$45.0 billion | $12.5 billion | ||
$44.4 billion | $12.4 billion | ||
No. 11. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBAF, news, msgs) | $43.9 billion | $12.4 billion | |
$39.7 billion | $12.1 billion | ||
$39.4 billion | $12.1 billion | ||
$30.7 billion | No. 64. Subway | $12.0 billion | |
$27.4 billion | $12.0 billion | ||
$26.4 billion | $11.9 billion | ||
$25.7 billion | $11.6 billion | ||
$24.8 billion | $11.3 billion | ||
$24.7 billion | $10.8 billion | ||
$24.6 billion | $10.5 billion | ||
$23.2 billion | $10.2 billion | ||
$23.7 billion | $9.7 billion | ||
$23.4 billion | $9.6 billion | ||
$21.9 billion | $9.4 billion | ||
$21.8 billion | $9.3 billion | ||
$21.7 billion | $9.3 billion | ||
$20.9 billion | $9.2 billion | ||
$20.6 billion | $9.2 billion | ||
No. 29. Louis Vuitton -- LVMF Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (LVMHF, news, msgs) | $19.7 billion | No. 79. Wrigley | $9.1 billion |
$18.7 billion | No. 80. Zara -- Industria de Diseno Textil (IDEXY, news, msgs) | $8.9 billion | |
$18.0 billion | $8.9 billion | ||
$17.8 billion | No. 82. Red Bull | $8.8 billion | |
$17.4 billion $17.2 billion | No. 83. Aldi | $8.7 billion | |
$8.6 billion | |||
$16.7 billion | $8.6 billion | ||
$16.6 billion | $8.4 billion | ||
$16.3 billion | $8.3 billion | ||
$15.9 billion | $8.3 billion | ||
$15.4 billion | $8.3 billion | ||
$15.1 billion | $8.3 billion | ||
$15.0 billion | No. 91. State Farm | $8.2 billion | |
$14.9 billion | $8.2 billion | ||
$14.8 billion | $8.1 billion | ||
$14.7 billion | $8.1 billion | ||
$14.4 billion | $8.1 billion | ||
$14.3 billion | No. 96. Auchan | $8.0 billion | |
$14.2 billion | $7.8 billion | ||
$14.1 billion | $7.5 billion | ||
$14.1 billion | $7.2 billion | ||
$14.0 billion | $7.1 billion |
This article was reported by Jason Notte for TheStreet.com.
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