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Apple knocks Coca-Cola off its 13 year reign as world’s most valuable brand

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The New York Times reports that Apple has knocked off Coca-Cola (Sugar water!) to become the ‘World’s Most Valuable Brand’ according to the annual Interbrand Best Global Brands Report.

Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time,” Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand, said in a recent interview. Apple was No. 2 last year, climbing from No. 8 in the 2011 report. “What is it they say, ‘Long live the king’?” Mr. Frampton asked. “This year, the king is Apple.”

The 2013 report begins: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.” The report estimates the value of the Apple brand at $98.3 billion, up 28 percent from the 2012 report.

Apple’s rivals Google and Samsung also moved up in the list with Mountain View also hopping over Coca-Cola to #2  at a $93.3B (up 34%) valuation while Samsung entered the top 10 with a new brand strategy called the Brand Ideal, which includes “a greater focus on social purpose”. Microsoft, who just lost a CEO, was flat.

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Perhaps a sign of the times, Apple—a company that has changed our lives, not just with its products but also with its ethos—has risen to the top of our Best Global Brands list, giving us a new number one for the first time in 14 years. As legions of fans can attest, few brands have enabled so many people to do so much so easily. With a reputation for revolutionizing the way we work, play and communicate, Apple has set a high bar for aesthetics, simplicity, and ease of use that all other brands are now expected to match. Apple’s ability to “think different” and deeply consider the customer experience is what makes the brand a leader—one that has inspired a loyal following and has the whole world anticipating its next big move. Brands, as Apple exemplifies so well, are business strategy brought to life.

Technology brands in top 100 (#4 IBM is no longer Technology but business services).

Rank Brand Name Brand Value ($m) Change in Brand Value
1 Apple 98,316 28%
2 Google 93,291 34%
5 Microsoft 59,546 3%
8 Samsung 39,610 20%
9 Intel 37,257 -5%
13 Cisco 29,053 7%
15 HP 25,843 -1%
18 Oracle 24,088 9%
25 SAP 16,676 7%
52 Facebook 7,732 43%
61 Dell 6,845 -10%
79 Adobe 4,899 8%

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Comments

  1. 9to5savio - 10 years ago

    Funny thing is that some really dumb people say aapl is gonna drop down to $250/share. That would leave them with a market cap of ~$219B. Well, they have around $170B in cash so that would leave the rest of the value of the company at ~$49B. Well, the brand name itself is estimated to be worth $98B in this article. And we haven’t even started to consider all the capital owned by them, healthy product lines, large margins and consistently greatest profit in the world.

    So remind people saying aapl is at risk of falling significantly low of these numbers. There is a definite floor below the value of their stock. And we are probably not that far from it right now.

    • Laughing_Boy48 - 10 years ago

      Apple has no definable bottom. It can go as low as the hedge funds want it to go. Apple can make all the money in the world and the share price will still go down. The same as Amazon can keep losing money and the share price will continue to rise. It’s a very inconsistent market from company to company. Apple has no outside support whatsoever. Tim Cook has completely alienated big money investors from Apple. It’s become a shareholder value trap.

      • David Rockefeller - 10 years ago

        Traditionally, Apple hasn’t played the shareholder game well. In fact I would say they even loath it. They’re more Atlas Shrugged libertarian than master manipulator.

  2. 9to5savio - 10 years ago

    Also (and more on topic), this is quite impressive given that on a global level, Apple only has ~13% unit market share. Pretty dang good brand cred for only having that much share globally. I think Apple has already been the most valuable brand in the US for some time.

  3. Gustavo Lopez (@tuolden) - 10 years ago

    This is not to rain on the parade but review this whenever possible

    http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/please-make-the-brand-valuation-humiliation-stop/4004224.article

    This is MIT/LBS/MBS professor on Brand Management.

  4. Laughing_Boy48 - 10 years ago

    It seems pretty inconsistent for Apple to make the top company in branding yet the company’s share value continues to drop which indicates it doesn’t have much value as far as company cash value is concerned. As far as shareholder value is concerned, this has been one of Apple’s worst years compounded by the fact that the entire market has risen considerably and yet Tim Cook hasn’t found away to turn that branding value into shareholder value while companies with far less branding value are doing far, far better than Apple. Nothing Apple does or has can move the share price upward.

    • David Rockefeller - 10 years ago

      Share value has little to do with brand value. What your seeing with Apple share value is mere (shortsighted) speculation. I’d say there are more iPhone users than regular Coke drinkers, but I have no basis for this. Actually, I think this title is well overdue for Apple. Whether Apple can maintain this position is another issue entirely.

  5. Eric S. (@InspiredCode) - 10 years ago

    Some of these brands are not well recognized for good reasons (like GE is known for poorly made products). Others are are seen as stagnant and un-innovative (McDonalds). Might as well put Comcast on the list. Everyone recognizes that name, yet they changed their name due to all the bad publicity surrounding it.

  6. Vraja Kumara - 10 years ago

    Coca cola is not sugar water, it is SALT water. Check out the various salts in the ingredients, listed as ‘sodium’ in different forms. That is why it doesn’t quench your thirst and you drink the whole 1.5l bottle in one go.

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