By Greg Hazley
Apple has surpassed Google as the world’s most valuable brand, according to an annual study by WPP’s Millward Brown.
The sixth annual study, called BrandZ, said Apple’s brand stands at $153.3 billion, up a whopping 84% from 2010, while No. 2 Google fell two percent to $111.5B.
Source: Millward Brown |
Eileen Campbell, CEO of MB, said Apple has risen in the ranking by “nurturing its brand and constantly innovating.”
Four of the five most valuable brands are in the tech sector.
Google was followed by IBM, McDonald’s and Microsoft to round out the top five. Facebook debuted on the ranking this year at 35 as the top gainer with a brand said to be worth $19.1B. Chinese web services giant Baidu was the second fastest gainer in brand value, surging 141% to $22.6B, followed by Wells Fargo (+97%; $36.9B), Burberry (+86%; $3.4B) and Apple.
Amazon skipped past No. 15 Wal-mart as the top retailer at No. 14 ($37.6B), while Toyota was the surprise top car brand, bouncing back at No. 27 ($24.2B), up 11 percent from 2010 and ahead of BWM (30) and Mercedes (50). [Full chart PDF can be downloaded here]
WPP noted the combined value of the top 100 brands rose 17 percent last year amid an economic turnaround for a combined value of $2.4 trillion.
The ranking uses consumer interviews across the globe and financial data from the companies to determine rankings.
Feintuch Communications is promoting the study.
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