Apple named the world’s most valuable brand

Apple displaced Coca Cola as the world’s most valuable brand in 2013, while Google – the world’s second most valuable brand – also remained in place. Interbrand’s 2015 edition of the Best Global Brands report sees the technology industry continue to dominate, with more than half of the top ten slots represented by companies operating in the space.

Other notable entrants on this year’s list were Facebook which weighed in at number 23 courtesy of a 54 per cent uplift in its brand valuation to $22bn. Technology that once was a nerd specialty or something useful for getting work done at the office is now suffusing every part of our lives.

The highest ranked UK-based company was HSBC which was ranked 37th with a total value of $11.6bn, a drop of 11%. The report values Apple at $170 billion, which also makes Apple one of the report’s top risers, its value having increased 43 percent.

Five new brands entered this year’s ranking: Lego (82), PayPal (97), MINI (98), Moët & Chandon (99), and Lenovo (100). Amazon climbed 5 notches up at 10th position compared to a year ago replacing Mercedes-Benz.

Lenovo is the second Chinese brand to appear on the Best Global Brands ranking. The first was Huawei (ranked 88th), which entered the ranking in 2014.

“The report examines what it takes for brands to succeed in today’s hyper-fragmented world”.

Interbrand estimates a brand’s value using a company’s products and services’ financial performance, how much of an influence the brand has on its customers’ choices, as well as how much power that specific brand has to justify a premium price for the company’s products. “As people demand immediate, personalised and tailored experiences, business and brands need to move at the speed of light”, he said.