Google remains the world's most valuable brand - and is becoming increasingly valuable
Kantar Millward Brown has released the 13th edition of the BrandZ brand value study, which ranks the 100 most valuable brands in the world. The top three brands—Google, Apple, and Amazon—have seen significant increases in value.
Google remains the most valuable brand in the world in 2018. The US internet giant increased its brand value by +23% compared to the previous year to 302.1 billion US dollars. Runner-up Apple grew by +28% and once again came in a close second with a brand value of USD 300.6 billion. The retail giant Amazon increased by +49% and is in third place for the first time with a brand value of 207.6 billion US dollars. Almost all brands in the top 10 belong to the dominant technology category or are related to the tech industry. Brands from the tech environment also represent over half (56%) of the total brand value of the top 100. The most valuable German - and also European - brand is SAP. The software company increased its brand value by +23% to 55.4 billion US dollars and moved up four places in the current ranking to 17th place.
Kantar Millward Brown, one of the world's leading market research and consulting companies, publishes the international brand value study BrandZ for the 13th time. The world's most valuable brands are analyzed using a combination of key financial figures and a survey of over three million consumers worldwide. The total value of the world's 100 most valuable brands is growing faster than ever before this year by 750 billion US dollars (+21 percent) to 4.4 trillion US dollars.
"The total value of the Top 100 has grown by 21% year-on-year, more than ever before. Both young and long-established brands are responsible for this growth. The recipe for success of strong brands is based on a mixture of courage and trust in the respective business model as well as a long-term brand strategy. Brands that use data and modern technologies such as artificial intelligence or augmented reality wisely and implement their marketing activities creatively will continue to increase their value in the future," explains Bernd Büchner, Managing Director of Kantar Millward Brown in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
| Rank 2018 | Brand | Category | Brand value 2018 (billion US dollars) | Change in brand value | Rank 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | 302,063 | 23 percent | 1 | |
| 2 | Apple | Technology | 300,595 | 28 percent | 2 |
| 3 | Amazon | Retail | 207,594 | 49 percent | 4 |
| 4 | Microsoft | Technology | 200,987 | 40 percent | 3 |
| 5 | Tencent | Technology | 178,990 | 65 percent | 8 |
Chinese brands with enormous growth momentum
There are now 14 Chinese brands in the top 100. By comparison, when BrandZ was first published in 2006, only China Mobile was among the 100 most valuable brands in the world. In the current ranking, the internet group Tencent is already in 5th place with a brand value of 179 billion US dollars (+65% compared to the previous year). One reason for its success: Tencent's messaging app WeChat now has over one billion user accounts. The overall growth momentum in China is enormous: the total value of the Chinese top 10 increased by +47% compared to the previous year, while the US brands only grew by +23%. Chinese brands are also ahead in terms of the biggest leaps in growth: online retailer JD.com (59th place) made the biggest leap with +94% and achieved a brand value of 20.9 billion US dollars. Alibaba increased its global reach through advertising measures and, on this basis, its brand value by +92 percent to 113.4 billion US dollars. The e-commerce platform thus enters the top 10 (9th place) for the first time. The third strongest growth momentum is also shown by a Chinese company: spirits producer Moutai increased its brand value by +89% and is ranked 34th in the ranking with 32.1 billion US dollars. Brands from India and Indonesia also recorded strong regional growth. The BrandZ Top 100 includes seven Asian brands (excluding China), which grew by +14 percent and achieved a total value of 146 billion US dollars. The regional bank BCA is the first Indonesian brand in the top 100 with a brand value of 12.7 billion US dollars (rank 99).
Automotive sector: Toyota ahead of Mercedes-Benz and BMW
Toyota remains the most valuable car brand in 2018. The Japanese company increased its brand value by 5 percent to 30 billion US dollars. Behind Toyota, Mercedes-Benz (25.7 billion US dollars, +9%) overtook BMW (25.6 billion US dollars) to take second place in the industry ranking of car manufacturers this year. Audi grew by +3 percent and achieved a brand value of 9.6 billion US dollars. The Ingolstadt-based company thus once again took 7th place in the industry ranking, but failed to make it into the top 100. While Porsche failed to make it into the top 10 this year, Volkswagen is once again one of the ten most valuable car brands with a brand value of 6 billion US dollars. Also new in the industry ranking is the Indian car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki in 9th place with a brand value of 6.4 billion US dollars. Tesla in particular is showing rapid growth: The US brand increased its value by 60 percent and ranks 8th among car brands with a brand value of 9.4 billion US dollars.
Retail sector grows particularly strongly at +35 percent
The retail sector is once again the fastest-growing category: the 20 most valuable retail brands in the ranking grew by an average of +35%. Online retailers are primarily responsible for this strong development, almost doubling their brand values in some cases (JD.com, Alibaba). Industry leader Amazon also contributed to the very strong overall result of the retailers with its 49% increase in value. Aldi and Lidl are among the traditional retail brands that have developed their brand value well in the past year. Aldi increased its brand value by +12% to 13.8 billion US dollars. Lidl even grew by +14% and, with a brand value of 8.2 billion US dollars in 15th place, is already within sight of the slightly better-placed US retailers CVS and Walgreens.
Newcomers: Spectrum, Uber and Instagram in the top 100 for the first time
In addition to brands such as JD.com and HP, which were last represented in the Top 100 in 2016 and returned this year, several brands made the leap into the brand elite for the first time in 2018: US telecommunications company Spectrum is a newcomer in 27th place with a brand value of 39.4 billion US dollars. Uber and Instagram are also new to the list. With a brand value of 16.1 billion US dollars, the online passenger transportation service Uber is in 81st place, while Instagram has a brand value of 14.5 billion US dollars, putting it in 91st place.
"High-growth brands such as Amazon or Tencent have developed into leading companies because, on the one hand, they have an excellent command of the keyboard of technology and data-based marketing and, on the other, they always put the consumer at the center of their activities. On this basis, many of the world's most valuable brands and their diverse services ensure consistent, seamless customer experiences across the various platforms used by today's consumers," concludes Bernd Büchner.
