Tech companies dominate Interbrand’s list of most valuable brands in 2014, with electronics giant, Apple, leading overall with a brand value of US$119 billion.<\/p>\n
Out of the top 100 brands in 2014, 13 companies are from the tech sector – 8 of which are in the top 20, overall, and 5 in the top 10.<\/p>\n
The tech category grew 11.3% year-over-year, and collectively is worth US$493.2 billion in brand value, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Apple continued to dominate the brand value rankings in 2014, after displacing Coca Cola as the world’s most valuable brand in 2013.<\/p>\n
Google – the world’s second most valuable brand – also remained in place.<\/p>\n
Facebook (29th, +86%), Apple (1st, +21%), and Google (2nd, +15%) represent the fastest growing brands – though saw growth slow down, compared to previous years.<\/p>\n
According to Interbrand, Facebook “continues to exceed expectations” – much in thanks to its massive Q2 earnings and mobile ad business.<\/p>\n
Another stand-out tech company is Amazon, the group said, with strong growth in its core business, as well as its expansion an innovation to other areas.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the coin, Finnish communications and information technology provider Nokia (#98, -44%) experienced the largest decline in value among the top 100 brands, dropping from its #57 position in 2013 to #98 this year.<\/p>\n
Japanese consumer electronics company Nintendo (100th, -33%) also had another difficult year and saw its brand fall 33 places to 100th position, with a brand value of US$4.1 billion.<\/p>\n
#<\/strong><\/td>\n| Brand<\/strong><\/td>\n | Value<\/strong><\/td>\n | Change<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 1<\/td>\n | Apple<\/td>\n | $118.9 billion<\/td>\n | 21%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 2<\/td>\n | Google<\/td>\n | $107.4 billion<\/td>\n | 15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 3<\/td>\n | Coca Cola<\/td>\n | $81.6 billion<\/td>\n | 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 4<\/td>\n | IBM<\/td>\n | $72.2 billion<\/td>\n | -8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 5<\/td>\n | Microsoft<\/td>\n | $61.2 billion<\/td>\n | 3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 6<\/td>\n | GE<\/td>\n | $45.5 billion<\/td>\n | -3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 7<\/td>\n | Samsung<\/td>\n | $45.4 billion<\/td>\n | 15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 8<\/td>\n | Toyota<\/td>\n | $42.4 billion<\/td>\n | 20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 9<\/td>\n | McDonald’s<\/td>\n | $42.2 billion<\/td>\n | 1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 10<\/td>\n | Mercedes-Benz<\/td>\n | $34.3 billion<\/td>\n | 8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | Interbrand determines its ranking by looking at three components in its valuations: an analysis of the financial performance of the branded products or services; the role the brand plays in purchase decisions; and the brand’s competitive strength.<\/p>\n The group also draws on data from Thomson Reuters, company annual reports, Datamonitor and Twitter, on top of its own desk research and “expert panel assessment”.<\/p>\n The full listing can be found on Interbrand’s dedicated site<\/a>.<\/p>\n Online retailers climb in brand value<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s favourite brands<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n These are South Africa\u2019s most valuable brands<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n |