Source: Interbrand
Notes: Apple and Google remain atop the list of most valuable brands for the third consecutive year, with their brand value growing by 43% and 12%, respectively. While the composition of the top 10 remains largely the same as last year, Amazon cracked the top 10 list for the first time, replacing Mercedes-Benz, which fell to #12. In other moves among the top 10, Microsoft (#4) switched places with IBM (#5), as did Toyota (#6) and GE (#8). The fastest-mover for the second-consecutive years was Facebook, which has now moved from #52 in 2013 year to #23, with a 54% year-over-year increase in brand value. Meanwhile, new entrants to the top 100 were: Lego (#82); PayPal (#97); MINI (#98); Moët& Chandon (#99); and Lenovo (#100).
Technology brands continue to represent a powerful force, in combination comprising about one-third (33.6%) of the total value of the top 100 brands.
Related: 2015’s Most Reputable Companies
About the Data: When determining the top 100 most valuable brands each year, Interbrand examines three key aspects that contribute to a brand’s value:
- The financial performance of the branded product and service;
- The role the brand plays in influencing customer choice; and
- The strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company.
Interbrand also notes that inclusion in the list requires that:
- “At least 30 percent of revenue must come from outside the brand’s home region.
- It must have a significant presence in Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets.
- There must be sufficient publicly available data on the brand’s financial performance.
- Economic profit must be expected to be positive over the longer term, delivering a return above the brand’s cost of capital.
- The brand must have a public profile and awareness across the major economies of the world.
These requirements – that a brand be global, visible, and relatively transparent with financial results – lead to the exclusion of some well-known brands that might otherwise be expected to appear in the ranking.