Most valuable brands: Facebook weakens, Uber and LinkedIn new in top 100
Interbrand published its ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world on Thursday. New to the ranking are Uber in 87th place and LinkedIn in 98th. This year's rating is less pleasing for Facebook. The brand falls to a value of 39.857 billion US dollars and is thus no longer in the top 10. Apple, Google and Amazon were able to maintain their status as the three most valuable brands in the world.
Facebook has been in the Best Global Brands ranking since 2012 and has seen steady growth over the following five years. At its peak in 2017, Facebook was ranked 8th with a brand value of $48.188 billion. In 2018, Facebook slipped to No. 9 and is now ranked No. 14 after a 12 percent decline in 2019.
Apple and Google were able to maintain their top position for the seventh year in succession. Apple's brand value increased by 9 percent to $234.241 billion and Google's by 8 percent to $167.713 billion. Amazon once again posted strong growth of 24 percent, ranking third for the second time after 2018 at $125.263 billion.
The other brands in the top 10 are Microsoft in 4th place ($108.847 billion), Coca-Cola in 5th place ($63.365 billion), Samsung in 6th place ($61.098 billion), Toyota in 7th place ($56.246 billion), Mercedes-Benz in 8th place ($50.832 billion), McDonald's in 9th place ($45.362 billion) and Disney in 10th place ($44.352 billion), a returnee in the top 10.
German car brands on a downward slide
Like last year, the German icons from the automotive industry are weakening alarmingly. Whereas Mercedes-Benz, BMW, VW, Audi, Porsche and especially also Mini in previous years, the brand values of the six German car brands are growing by an average of only 5 percent, with growth of between 9 percent (Porsche) and 1 percent (BMW). The latter brand is at least growing again, albeit at a modest level, having lost 1 percent in 2018.
MasterCard is the brand with the greatest growth in 2019, with a 25 percent increase in brand value to $9.430 billion, moving up 8 places to 62nd. Other interesting top performers include Gucci ($15.949 billion, ranked 33rd) with 23 percent growth and Adobe ($12.937 billion, ranked 39th) with 20 percent growth. Dell returns to 63rd place ($9.086 billion) after a six-year absence following relisting.
26 of the 100 Best Global Brands recorded double-digit percentage growth. Overall, the value of all 100 listed brands grows by 5.7 percent year-on-year to a new record of $2.131 trillion.
In 1999, Interbrand published the first ranking of the most valuable brands, the Best Global Brands, and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Time for an interim conclusion: "For decades, building a brand was all about positioning. But the age of brand positioning is over," says Charles Trevail, Global CEO of Interbrand. "In a world where customer expectations evolve faster than companies, brands can no longer be considered separately from companies."
Annual report and methodology
Interbrand's twentieth annual report, "The End of Positioning," analyzes how the Best Global Brands are strengthening their brand through the courage to transform, thereby creating sustainable economic value. Interbrand was the first company to have its brand valuation methodology certified to ISO 10668, the international standard of requirements for monetary brand valuation, and played a key role in developing the standard for brand valuations.
Interbrand's valuation methodology is based on three key points of analysis:
- The financial performance of a brand's products or services
- The role of the brand in the purchase decision process
- The competitiveness of the brand and its ability to create loyalty and thus sustainable demand and long-term profit
You can find the entire ranking at Interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2019/ranking/
