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Apple Fans To Battlestations: Google has toppled Apple in brand value
Well, I never thought I'd see the day, but according to Millward Brown's annual BrandZ report, Apple is now just the second most valuable brand on earth, with Google taking over the top spot. I have to say, I'm extremely disappointed in each and every one of you so-called Apple fans. How could you let this happen? Sure, the research behind the BrandZ study puts a huge emphasis on consumer opinions and uses customer interviews in a quantitative manner that is hard to put weight on, and yes, these brands seem to swing and sway with almost zero pattern whatsoever, but that doesn't matter. We've lost a serious battle today and you should all be ashamed of yourselves. According to the research, Apple's brand value has dropped 20% in the past year, while Google's has rocketed up a whopping 40%. The final tally puts Apple's brand value at US$147.9 billion, while Google snuck past with a value of $158.8 billion. So how do we right this egregious wrong? I have a plan: Each and every one of you needs to buy three new iPhones and at least a dozen new iPads by the end of the week. You need to talk about your devices even more than you currently do. Make t-shirts that proclaim your love for Apple. Remind everyone that Microsoft is only in 4th place, and Samsung isn't even in the top 25. That'll shut 'em up. Get that Apple tattoo you've been considering. In fact, get several. This one is the most important: Remember that these rankings mean next to nothing, and go about your lives without acting like an insane fanboy. [via Mashable]
Google bests Apple as world's most valuable brand
For the first time in three years, Google topped Apple on BrandZ's annual ranking of the top 100 most valuable global brands. Put together by MillwardBrown, this year's ranking gave Google a brand value of US$158 billion and Apple a brand value of $147 billion. Of course, the notion of what constitutes a "valuable brand" is somewhat nebulous, which perhaps explains why Apple in 2014 saw its brand value drop by $38 billion while Google's increased by approximately $40 billion. The report explains Apple's decline in brand value thusly: The decline in Apple's brand value reflects softening of the share price because of investor concern about the future of the company after founder Steve Jobs, and the recent lack of breakthrough products that differentiate Apple. That said, Apple's share price performance over time suggests that confidence remains strong in a technology brand that makes products, retails them around the world, provides content and is renowned for combining technology prowess, design and service. In BrandZ research, consumers rate the Apple brand extremely high on being different, innovative and meaningful. This may be the year that Apple introduces another major innovation – iPhone 6 or Apple TV. The company entered talks with Comcast, the largest cable company in the US. To drive volume, Apple introduced a new line of more popularly priced phones and it signed an agreement with China Mobile, the world's largest telecom provider with over 750 million customers. Like a luxury brand, Apple faces the dilemma of balancing exclusivity to protect the brand and command a price premium, while expanding to mass to gain volume at the risk of brand dilution. Samsung challenged Apple with its Galaxy smartphones. Operating on the Android platform, the phones have a larger screen than the iPhone and other features that Samsung successfully promotes. The company preempted Apple with the launch of wearable technology, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch that coordinates with Samsung phones and tablets. Not exactly the most thorough analysis, but what do you expect from a report that covers 100 companies. Incidentally, shares of Apple have been on a tear lately. In the last month or so, Apple stock has gone up by nearly 17%. As a final point of interest, the companies rounding out the top 10 include IBM, Microsoft, McDonalds, Coke, Visa, AT&T, Marlboro, and Amazon. Some tech companies which made the top 100 cut include Yahoo, Twitter, and LinkedIn which all checked in at 69, 71, and 78 respectively.
BrandZ global report puts Apple at #1 most valuable brand for the first time
Apple is the world's number one most valuable brand, according to BrandZ's sixth annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Ranking. Apple's rank jumped 84% from 2010 and knocked Google out of the #1 spot, a position the search company held for the past four years. Apple's brand valuation now sits at a cool US$153 billion, which is $40 billion more than previous brand leader Google. Apple beat out other big names such as IBM, Microsoft and McDonald's in its climb to the #1 spot. It also has a brand value worth more than Coca-Cola and McDonald's combined. These rankings were developed for WPP, the world's largest communications services group, by its subsidiary Millward Brown Optimor. They take into account a company's dollar value and financial data, as well as consumer measures of brand equity derived from interviews of two million people worldwide. Much of Apple's success in the past year can be attributed to the iPhone and iPad, both of which are highly sought after devices both here in the US and globally. One only needs to look at the lines for the iPhone and the iPad to see the power of the Apple brand in action.
Apple brand valued at $153 billion, scoots ahead of Google for first place
What is the world's most valuable consumer-facing brand? If you'd asked the guys behind the BrandZ survey at any point over the last four years, they'd have told you "Google," but in 2011 their answer has changed. Apple is now the hottest property in terms of consumer goodwill, earning an estimated valuation of $153.3 billion and leading a pack that includes the likes of Coca-Cola, BMW, HSBC, and Disney. The tech sector had a very strong year as a whole, with Facebook's brand improving in value by a staggering 246 percent (to $19.1b) and Amazon becoming the world's most valuable retailer (at $37.6b) in spite of having no actual stores. Sadly, there were some downers too, as Nintendo lost 37 percent of its brand worth over the past year, Nokia dropped by 28 percent, and the BlackBerry marque was considered 20 percent less awesome than before. Punch the source link to learn more. [Thanks, Bruce]
