Apple remains the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand for 2013, worth an estimated $185 billion.
But Apple grew just one per cent in the last year compared to a 51 per cent growth from its closest competitor, Samsung, which is now number 30 in the global ranking with a brand value of $21 billion.
“Vying for leadership in the smartphone market, Samsung fuelled its huge increase in brand value by balancing a remarkable period of innovation with growing market share – it spent $1.6 billion more on advertising in the last year,” said Millward Brown Optimor MD Nick Cooper.
“However, 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,” said Cooper.
Google is also a serious challenger for the number one spot, reversing last year’s decline to grow five per cent in brand value this year. The brand is number two in the ranking with a value of $114 billion.
IBM is number three in the ranking with a brand value of $112 billion.
Meanwhile, Prada delivered the highest growth in brand value at 63 per cent. Outstripping the performance of all other luxury brands, it is now number four in the luxury category (95 globally) and worth $9.5 billion.
Chinese technology and telecom brand Tencent is also one of the top 10 risers in the ranking with brand value growth of 52 per cent, exceeding Facebook for the first time.
A total of 12 Chinese brands made into this year’s Top 100 Most Valuable Brands, with combined brand value reaching US$270 billion.
Six of the top 10 Asian brands are Chinese brands, surpassing Japan and Korea, yet most of the Chinese brands in the list are state-owned enterprises.
This year, there is a decrease in both the number and total brand value of Chinese brands, indicating a bottleneck for the growth of Chinese brands. This suggests that Chinese brands not only need to be more technologically innovative but also more international.
The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study, commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor, is now in its eighth year. It is the only ranking that uses the views of potential and current buyers of a brand, alongside financial data, to calculate its value.
