Dubai: Apple had better come up with its next “must have” gadget… fast. It has just slipped behind Google as the world’s most valuable brand in the BrandZ Top 100 rankings. The Android giant made its gains over Apple by being valued at $159 billion, 40 per cent over what it was last year.
After three years at the top, Apple, meanwhile, saw a 20 per cent erosion in brand value to $148 billion. “There is a growing perception that it is no longer redefining technology for consumers, reflected by a lack of dramatic new product launches,” said a statement issued by Millward Brown Optimor, which did the study on behalf of WPP, the advertising giant. Another tech giant, IBM, came in third at $108 billion.
In what may surprise or shock many, none of the social media giants made it to the top 10. It could be that this may well be the last year in which they won’t call the shots within this space.
“This year’s index highlights the end of the recession, with a strong recovery in valuations and, for the first time, real growth across every category and the Top 100 as a whole,” said David Roth, CEO of The Store, WPP. “What’s remarkable is the way that strong brands have led the recovery.”
In fact, 71 of the brands that made it to the Top 100 were there in 2008. Moreover, it was a return to form for some of the Western brands. “This reflected the resilience of established brands and the breakthrough of new brands, as well as improved economic conditions,” the report finds. “As a result, the number of brands from fast growing economies slipped in 2014.”
On the Google versus Apple debate, Nick Cooper, managing director of Millward Brown Optimor, said: “Google has been hugely innovative in the last year with Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and a multitude of partnerships that see its Android operating system becoming embedded in other goods such as cars. All of this activity sends a very strong signal to consumers about what Google is about and it has coincided with a slowdown at Apple.”
While Microsoft came in fourth, the fifth and sixth rankings were held by non-tech majors, in the form of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Interestingly, Marlboro came in ninth, while Amazon was tenth. Visa and AT&T were placed seventh and eighth respectively.
