Apple have recently lost their spot as number 1 on the list, many thanking their failure to not launch any new products for the past four years as the reason people are losing interest. Now, Google has reclaimed the number 1 spot from Apple, after losing it to them just 4 years ago. Read on through the countdown of the top 20 most valuable brands in the world and see if it’s what you expected:
20. Vodafone
20-vodafone
[Image Courtesy of arne-list]
Value: $36.3 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -9%
Vodafone has dropped by three spots and they are now sitting in 20th position as the world’s most valuable brands. They have strengthened in the broadband sector as they have acquired Ono and Kabel Deutschland.
19. SAP
19-sap
[Image Courtesy of SAP]
Value: $36.4 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 6%
SAP, the German business software company has seen record sales and they have had success with Hana, the software that allows for the organisation of large amount of data. In Europe the brand was ranked at being the most valuable and overall they come in at 19th place.
18. MasterCard
18-mastercard
[Image Courtesy of AP]
Value: $39.5 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 42%
MasterCard have seen a spurt in growth of two places and they are now resting at 18. It was said that the expansion of relationships with some large banks has helped them with the two place change from 20.
17. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
17-industrial-and-commercial-bank-of-china
[Image Courtesy of Reuters/Jason Lee]
Value: $42.1
% Change v. 2013: 2%
This bank is the biggest lender in China and the ICBC saw incremental growth when it comes to the value of the brand, even though market reforms did make it more difficult for the banks to be able to make profits from their loans. The bank made expansions thanks to taking on new small business clients.
16. UPS
16-ups
[Image Courtesy of UPS]
Value: $47.7 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 12%
UPS along with the other logistics companies in the top 100 have seen significant growth when it comes to the value of their brand. It is thought that this is down to a growth in e-commerce, which has led to the need for more shipping. Even so DHL and Fed-Ex have not managed to get into the top 50.
15. China Mobile
15-chinamobile
[Image Courtesy of The tenth dragon]
Value: $49.9 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -10%
China Mobile is the biggest telecom company in the world thanks to its 750 million subscribers and this year they expanded when they offered the Apple iPhone.
14. Tencent
14-tencent
[Image Courtesy of Carlson]
Value: $53.6 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 97%
Tencent has been the biggest riser in the top 100 after they doubled their brand value from 2013. The social network now has more than 1 billion users and is spreading out thanks to mobile payment features.
13. Wells Fargo
13-wells-fargo
[Image Courtesy of Reuters]
Value: $54.2 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 14%
Wells Fargo has now become the United States most profitable bank during 2013 thanks to it bringing in revenue increases from fees and loans, which saw the stocks rise by 33%. Most of the success has been down to integration with Wachovia during 2008, which meant that the bank was able to increase its scale and not have to take on subprime mortgages, which were the competitions downfall.
12. GE
12-ge
[Image Courtesy of Flickr]
Value: $56.7 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 2%
General Electric is just about on the cutting edge of everything and they made a push in the market to let their consumers know this. They happened to be the first to advertise on Instagram back in 2013 and have enjoyed success with innovative online campaigns.
11. Verizon
11-verizon
[Image Courtesy of AP]
Value: $63.5 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 20%
Verizon have seen the 5th largest brand value growth in the top 20 and they have worked to make themselves stand out from their rivals as they have shown off their technical knowledge. The company took a full page ad in the newspaper to tell people that they were ranked in first place in many technical categories.
10. Amazon
10-amazon
[Image Courtesy of Ted S Warren]
Value: $64.3 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 41%
The rise of Amazon has always been documented well and the store that sells everything went into the BrandZ top 10 for the first time ever when they recorded sales of $74.4 billion in 2013. This was an increase of 22%. The online shopping company have continued to expand into a media company as they are now offering series on Amazon Prime along with acquiring rights to air for some of the old series on HBO.
9. Marlboro
9-marlboro
[Image Courtesy of Flickr]
Value: $67.3 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -3%
Marlboro have once again dropped when it comes to brand value and this is the second consecutive year in which they have done so. They fell down from number 8 to number 9, however, they have shown that even though smoking is often frowned upon, they are popular.
8. AT&T
8-att
[Image Courtesy of AP]
AT&T has grown, but despite this they have dropped two places and this has been largely down to the fact that Visa and Microsoft have grown. AT&T has seen slow growth thanks to disruptions in prices and competitive pressures and they are still the most valuable brand in the category of telecom providers.
7. Visa
7-visa
[Image Courtesy of GettyImages]
Value: $79.2 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 41%
Visa has jumped two spots and they managed to stand themselves apart from competitors by putting the emphasis on rewards.
6. Coca-Cola
6-coca-cola
[Image Courtesy of Coca-Cola]
Value: $80.7 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 3%
Coca-Cola is one of the most well-known of soft drinks and happens to be seven times as valuable as its closest rival, Pepsi. However the brand did fall down a spot this year and this has been attributed to lack of trust among consumers when it comes to poor nutritional value.
5. McDonalds
5-mcdonalds
[Image Courtesy of Wkimedia Commons]
Value: $85.7 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -5%
McDonalds have been facing a struggle as the consumer has become more health conscious. The brand value dropped by 5% and this was the second year running, their Mighty Wings was a flop, but they remain one of the most well-known of fast food brands.
4. Microsoft
4-microsoft
[Image Courtesy of AP]
Value: $90.2 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 29%
Microsoft suffered a decrease in their rankings last year, however this year it is a different story and the software company has seen a 29% increase. There has been a change in leadership, which Satya Nadella taking over as CEO and the company are working on ‘fixing’ Windows 8, which has seen a lot of success. The company is now listening to its customers complaints and trying to find a solution for power users who didn’t welcome the new operating system.
3. IBM
3-ibm
[Image Courtesy of Reuters]
Value: $107.5 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -4%
IBM has dropped down in value for the second year in a row; however they have managed to maintain their position as being the number 3 most valuable brand. They are developing cloud computing and building big data along with analytical teams.
2. Apple
2-apple
[Image Courtesy of AP]
Value: $147.9 billion
% Change vs. 2013: -20%
Apple dropped 20% in bran value and this saw their three years at the top come to an end. Apple failed to launch a new product again this year and their competitor Samsung beat them to it when they were the first company to launch a smartwatch. While Apple has continued to sell a lot of iPhones, consumers want Apple to be the leader when it comes to innovation that they were once known as.
1. Google
google-new-york-hq-1
[Image Courtesy of Jim Edwards]
Value: $158.8 billion
% Change vs. 2013: 40%
Google has the number one position in the top 20 most valuable companies. This is a position that they had from 2007 to 2010 before Apple took over. Along with the integration of products into the lives of many millions of people around the globe, they have shown innovation with Google Glass along with taking over Nest, the home automation company.
Source:http://interestingengineering.com/