NEW YORK, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Google, Apple, and Amazon are among this year's top gainers in BusinessWeek's annual ranking of the Best Global Brands; Merrill Lynch, Gap, and Morgan Stanley are among the companies that have slipped dramatically down the list. For the eighth consecutive year, BusinessWeek has teamed up with Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy, to publish the ranking of the top 100 global brands by brand value.
Coca-Cola remains the No. 1 brand for the eighth year in a row. Yet a notable shift in this year's rankings was made by IBM, which took over the No. 2 position from Microsoft (No. 3). Google also moved into the top 10 brands, at No. 10, after ranking at No. 20 in 2007.
Every time a recession threatens, executives glare at the balance sheet and wonder aloud about one particular expense: brand building. As the business climate has worsened in recent months, a number of blue-chip companies have announced plans to cut marketing costs, including Coca-Cola and Visa. U.S. automakers have already done so. As have several hard-hit banks. Then there are the other guys--companies that refuse to let tough times distract them from their long-term brand-building efforts. Sometimes they see a recession as the perfect moment to get a leg up on a weakened rival. Others strengthen their brands to ward off discount competitors. Still others feel they have a knockout new product that requires support.
"In this challenging economy, it is important for BusinessWeek to offer its audience insight into the best global practices for increasing brand value," said Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek. "Many of this year's Best Global Brands provide a good example of how to weather difficult times and emerge stronger and better-positioned to compete."
"The 100 Best Global Brands are a reflection of the global economy - the current credit crisis in the U.S., the growth of emerging markets and the increased emphasis on sustainability are all key trends that resulted in brands rising or failing on the list," said Jez Frampton, CEO of Interbrand. "The increasing complexities of the global economy reinforce the importance of protecting and growing a brand. It is a company's most valuable asset - and a far less volatile asset than others during a time of economic uncertainty."
BusinessWeek chose Interbrand's methodology because it evaluates brand value in the same way other corporate assets are valued--on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future. Interbrand uses a combination of analysts' projections, company financial documents, and its own qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at a net present value of those earnings. The brand values are based on data collected during the 12 months prior to June 30, 2008. So more recent developments, including the troubles at Merrill Lynch and AIG, are not factored into the brand valuations but are included in the descriptions of each brand.
BusinessWeek's special report, Best Global Brands, is featured in the September 29, 2008 issue, on newsstands Friday, September 19th. Expanded content, including full methodology, is available on BusinessWeek.com at http://www.businessweek.com/go/brand.
About BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek is a global source of trusted content that informs and inspires business leaders to make smarter decisions in their professional and personal lives. Founded in 1929 and published by the McGraw-Hill Companies, BusinessWeek magazine is the market leader, with more than 4.7 million readers each week in 140 countries. Local language editions include Chinese, Israeli and Bahasa Indonesian. Launched in 1994, BusinessWeek.com is the preeminent provider of daily, essential business news, information, and services to business decision-makers. Reaching 85% of the nation's households, BusinessWeek TV delivers important business, consumer and financial news to television viewers every week.
About InterbrandInterbrand, the leading brand consultancy, combines the rigorous strategy and analysis of a management consulting practice with the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of branding and design. The company offers a comprehensive array of consulting services that guide clients in the creation, enhancement, maintenance and valuation of their most valuable asset -- their brands. Founded in 1974, Interbrand has offices in over 30 cities in more than 20 countries around the globe and clients from among the most respected businesses. For more information, visit the world's only online exchange about branding, produced by Interbrand, at http://www.brandchannel.com/.
BusinessWeek/Interbrand's Annual Ranking of the Best Global Brands For 2008
Rank Company 2008 Percent Country of Brand Change Ownership Value (over 2007) $MILLIONS 1 Coca-Cola 66,667 2% US 2 IBM 59,031 3% US 3 Microsoft 59,007 1% US 4 GE 53,086 3% US 5 Nokia 35,942 7% Finland 6 Toyota 34,050 6% Japan 7 Intel 31,261 1% US 8 McDonald's 31,049 6% US 9 Disney 29,251 0% US 10 Google 25,590 43% US 11 Mercedes 25,577 9% Germany 12 Hewlett-Packard 23,509 6% US 13 BMW 23,298 8% Germany 14 Gillette 22,069 8% US 15 American Express 21,940 5% US 16 Louis Vuitton 21,602 6% France 17 Cisco 21,306 12% US 18 Marlboro 21,300 0% US 19 Citi 20,174 -14% US 20 Honda 19,079 6% Japan 21 Samsung 17,689 5% S. Korea 22 H&M 13,840 N/A Sweden 23 Oracle 13,831 11% US 24 Apple 13,724 24% US 25 Sony 13,583 5% Japan 26 Pepsi 13,249 3% US 27 HSBC 13,143 -3% UK 28 Nescafe 13,055 1% Switzerland 29 Nike 12,672 6% US 30 UPS 12,621 5% US 31 SAP 12,228 13% Germany 32 Dell 11,695 1% US 33 Budweiser 11,438 -2% US 34 Merrill Lynch 11,399 -21% US 35 Ikea 10,913 8% Sweden 36 Canon 10,876 3% Japan 37 J.P. Morgan 10,773 -6% US 38 Goldman Sachs 10,331 -3% US 39 Kellogg's 9,710 4% US 40 Nintendo 8,772 13% Japan 41 UBS 8,740 -11% Switzerland 42 Morgan Stanley 8,696 -16% US 43 Philips 8,325 8% Netherlands 44 Thomson Reuters 8,313 N/A Canada 45 Gucci 8,254 7% Italy 46 eBay 7,991 7% US 47 Accenture 7,948 9% US 48 Siemens 7,943 3% Germany 49 Ford 7,896 -12% US 50 Harley-Davidson 7,609 -1% US Rank Company 2008 Percent Country of Brand Change Ownership Value (over 2007) $MILLIONS 51 L'Oreal 7,508 7% France 52 MTV 7,193 4% US 53 Volkswagen 7,047 8% Germany 54 AIG 7,022 -6% US 55 AXA 7,001 -4% France 56 Heinz 6,646 2% US 57 Colgate 6,437 7% US 58 Amazon.com 6,434 19% US 59 Xerox 6,393 6% US 60 Chanel 6,355 9% France 61 Wrigley's 6,105 6% US 62 Zara 5,955 15% Spain 63 Nestle 5,592 5% Switzerland 64 KFC 5,582 -2% US 65 Yahoo! 5,496 -9% US 66 Danone 5,408 8% France 67 Audi 5,407 11% Germany 68 Caterpillar 5,288 5% US 69 Avon 5,264 3% US 70 Adidas 5,072 6% Germany 71 Rolex 4,956 8% Switzerland 72 Hyundai 4,846 9% S. Korea 73 BlackBerry 4,802 N/A Canada 74 Kleenex 4,636 1% US 75 Porsche 4,603 9% Germany 76 Hermes 4,575 8% France 77 Gap 4,357 -20% US 78 Panasonic 4,281 4% Japan 79 Cartier 4,236 10% Switzerland 80 Tiffany & Co 4,208 5% US 81 Pizza Hut 4,097 -4% US 82 Allianz 4,033 2% Germany 83 Moet & Chandon 3,951 6% France 84 BP 3,911 3% UK 85 Starbucks 3,879 7% US 86 ING 3,768 -3% Netherlands 87 Motorola 3,721 -10% US 88 Duracell 3,682 2% US 89 Smirnoff 3,590 6% UK 90 Lexus 3,588 7% Japan 91 Prada 3,585 9% Italy 92 Johnson&Johnson 3,582 4% US 93 Ferrari 3,527 N/A Italy 94 Armani 3,526 N/A Italy 95 Hennessy 3,513 -3% France 96 Marriott 3,502 N/A US 97 Shell 3,471 4% Netherlands 98 Nivea 3,401 9% Germany 99 FedEx 3,359 N/A US 100 Visa 3,338 N/A US
