Apple remains the most valuable brand

Although Apple's brand value is increasing less rapidly than in previous years, at 178.12 billion US dollars, the technology giant is still by far the most valuable brand in the world.

Dior, the third brand in the Best Global Brands from the LVMH portfolio alongside Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon, is delighted with its new entry into the ranking. Tesla is now also among the 100 most valuable in the world. Elon Musk's uncompromising will to revolutionize, the pioneering technology and the aesthetic design of the vehicles have created an impressive brand.

The brand with the highest growth this year is Facebook. With an enormous increase in brand value of 48 percent, the company is in 15th place. Mark Zuckerberg's social media brand is therefore the top growing brand in the Best Global Brands Ranking 2016. The second fastest-growing brand is Amazon. With an increase of 33 percent and a brand value of 50.34 billion US dollars, the online service provider moved up to eighth place.

According to Interbrand, this year's Best Global Brands Report shows "The Anatomy of Growth": The 100 most valuable brands ranked in 2016 shows more clearly than ever that great brand growth also ensures great growth for companies.

"Brands help companies to grow," says Nina Oswald, Managing Director Interbrand Germany. "Successful brands look inwards and outwards, expand into new markets and create better brand experiences - they have understood the 'anatomy of growth'. This is complex, nuanced and, above all, very individual. Because growth means something different for every brand; every brand and the story associated with it are unique. The world's most successful brands that make it into Interbrand's Best Global Brands ranking don't just respond to change, they drive it."

Automotive growth sector

The global automotive industry continues to grow unabated. With the exception of Volkswagen and Honda, which suffered losses of minus nine and minus four percent respectively, the remaining 15 brands from the automotive sector recorded an increase in their brand value. Toyota remains the most valuable automotive brand overall in the ranking and even moves up into the top five. Mercedes-Benz grew by 18 percent and is the most valuable German brand this year with a value of 43.49 billion US dollars. BMW is close behind with 41.55 billion US dollars.

Nissan is once again one of the top growth brands this year, moving up to 43rd place with an increase in value of 22%. However, Porsche and Mini are also proving extremely successful with an increase of 18% each. Good sales growth and improved margins gave Audi growth of 14 percent. Newcomer Tesla is in 100th place with a brand value of 4 billion US dollars.

"Car manufacturers are facing up to new competitors such as Google and Co. and are focusing on e-mobility, self-driving cars and holistic mobility solutions," says Nina Oswald. "However, the challenge lies in finding the balance between tradition and future vision, innovation and consumer expectations."

Heterogeneous growth in the technology and electronics sector

The technology brands continue to clearly dominate the ranking with their cumulative brand value, but growth is very unevenly distributed. Facebook recorded the highest growth in this year's ranking with a plus of 48 percent. Adobe and Huawei grew by 21% and 18% respectively, SAP and Google by 13% and 11%. Samsung achieved an increase of 14% and is therefore growing significantly faster this year than its competitor Apple with just 5%, but remains in seventh place.

Microsoft, Intel and Cisco are growing somewhat more slowly in direct comparison, at eight and four percent respectively.

The electronics sector, on the other hand, is stagnating slightly, with Philips and Sony alone recording growth of four and eight percent respectively.

Swiss brands

Nescafé is once again the most valuable Swiss brand in 2016. However, the brand's growth has slowed down considerably with an increase of two percent, but the Swiss brand is still able to defend its 36th place. Although Nestlé still recorded growth of one percent, it slipped from 52nd to 56th place due to the significantly stronger growth of the other brands.

Methodology

Interbrand's 17th Best Global Brands Report examines how brands help drive overall business growth - from meeting consumer expectations to contributing to economic value growth. This methodology is the first to be successfully certified to ISO 10668:2010. An international standard that defines the basic requirements for the procedures and methods for determining the monetary value of a brand.

The analysis is based on three fundamental aspects:

• the financial performance of the branded products or services
• the role that the brand plays in the purchasing decision process
• and the strength of the brand, which enables a price premium and secures future earnings for the company.