Best Global Brands 2011: Coca-Cola remains the world's most valuable brand
For the 11th consecutive year, Interbrand has released its ranking of the world's 100 most valuable brands. Coca-Cola remains the world's most valuable brand, while Nescafé is the most valuable Swiss brand.
The leading group of the top 10 is more stable than ever this year and remains almost unchanged in its composition, apart from the departure of the last European brand - Nokia - from the elite group and Apple's advance to eighth place. The number one is and remains Coca-Cola. The beverage manufacturer's brand value amounts to 71.86 billion US dollars. As in the previous year, the American computer manufacturer IBM and the software company Microsoft ranked second and third.
The 100 most important brands increased in value again last year. Their total value rose by 4.6 percent compared to the previous year to around 1.26 trillion US dollars. In the crisis year 2009, the total value of all brands in the ranking fell by 4.6 percent for the first time in the history of the Best Global Brands. In 2010, the Best Global Brands reached the same level as before the crisis.
Nescafé most valuable Swiss brand
As in the previous year, five Swiss brands made it into the top 100. The total brand value of the five Swiss brands amounted to 30.39 billion US dollars. The most valuable Swiss brand in 2011 is once again Nescafé in 30th place with a value of 12.12 billion US dollars. With a value increase of one percent, Nestlé was able to move up two places to become the second most valuable brand in Switzerland. The food manufacturer ranks 55th with a value of 6.61 billion US dollars. UBS fell six places to 92nd place with a brand value of 3.8 billion US dollars. Credit Suisse and Zurich, the two Swiss newcomers in 2010, held their own and both increased their brand value. Credit Suisse ranks 82nd with a brand value of 4.1 billion US dollars, while Zurich has increased its brand value by eight percent and ranks 94th with 3.77 billion US dollars.
Technology brands continue to dominate in 2011
In the past year, technology brands were able to further expand their sector-related growth and continue to gain ground on traditional consumer goods brands in the ranking of the 100 most valuable brands in the world. Six of the top 10 brands (IBM (rank 2), Microsoft (rank 3), Google (rank 4), Intel (rank 7), Apple (rank 8) and Hewlett-Packard (rank 10)), four of the five fastest growing brands (Apple, Amazon.com, Google and Samsung) and one of the new entrants (HTC) are technology brands. Despite the dominance of technology brands, other sectors also achieved strong value growth in the 2011 ranking of the Best Global Brands: insurance companies and luxury goods companies made substantial year-on-year gains and the automotive industry is also characterized by extraordinary growth.
Winners, losers and new additions
Alongside Apple and Amazon, Google, Samsung and Burberry are among the winners of this year's ranking. Apple recorded a sensational 58% increase in brand value and stormed into the top 10. Amazon moved up ten places from 36th to 26th place with the second strongest increase in brand value (+32%). Google took third place in the group of rising stars. The internet company recorded an increase in value of 27% and maintained its fourth place. Samsung is the fourth technology brand to be among the winners in this year's ranking. The brand increased in value by 20 percent and is ranked 17th in the top 20 with a brand value of 23.43 billion US dollars. Burberry breaks through the phalanx of technology brands and, with its 20 percent increase in value, is also one of the winners in this year's ranking of the Best Global Brands 2011.
Among the losers in 2011 were Nokia (-15%), Nintendo (-14%), Sony (-13%), Yahoo (-11%) and Dell (-6%). All suffered a not insignificant loss in brand value.
Three brands make their debut in 2011 - the best newcomer in 2011 is Nissan. The Japanese automotive brand ranks 90th with a brand value of 3.82 billion US dollars. John Deere enters the ranking in 97th place with a brand value of 3.65 billion US dollars. HTC is the first Taiwanese brand to make it into the top 100 with a brand value of 3.61 billion US dollars.
