Brand Power

Milward Brown (brand marketing and investment) has released a report on the 'Top 100 Most Powerful Brands'. This makes interesting reading, given that the determination of 'brand value' seem arbitrary and contentious. The report defines how brand value is determined, but it still is rather mysterious.

10 Most Powerful Brands
_____________________BRAND VALUE__ BRAND
_________________________($M) ______CHANGE

1 Google.............................. 86,057... 30%
2 GE (General Electric) ........71,379 ...15%
3 Microsoft .........................70,887 ...29%
4 Coca-Cola (*) ...................58,208 ...17%
5 China Mobile ....................57,225 ...39%
6 IBM ..................................55,335 ...65%
7 Apple ................................55,206 ..123%
8 McDonald’s ......................49,499 ...49%
9 Nokia ...............................43,975 ...39%
10 Marlboro ........................37,324 ...-5%

Source: Millward Brown Optimor (including data from
brandz, Datamonitor, and Bloomberg)
*The brand value for Coca-Cola includes the values of both
Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Diets and Lites

Some observations:

1. Google has emerged as the most valuable brand, with a brand value of $86 billion, ahead of Microsoft (in third place with a brand value of $71 billion)
2. Both Apple and Blackberry had the largest increases.
3. The technology sector accounted for 28 of the top 100 brands, and collectively reflected more than half of the total brand value of the top 100
4. Emerging markets in China and Russia have brands in the top 100, with a prediction that India and Brazil brands may hit the top 100 soon.
5. Share investment in the Top 100 Most Powerful Brands return a five fold increase in share market performance against the S&P 500.