Apple tops list of Best Global Brands for first time

Apple beats out 13-year champion Coca-Cola

For the first time ever, Apple has topped Interbrand’s list of the Best Global Brands of 2013, beating out the long-standing champion Coca-Cola.

Interbrand has a specific set of criteria for which brands make the list. For starters, at least 30% of the brand’s revenue must come from outside the brand’s home region. Additionally, it must have a presence in at least three major continents, including emerging markets; it must be a public company (hence the reason why Mars Inc. and BBC didn’t make the list); the brand must have a public profile and awareness that goes beyond its own marketplace; and economic profit must be expected to increase over the long term.

So that sounds about right. Apple is nothing if not enormous and recognizable even to the most common of plebians.

That said, Apple is a high-end brand and doesn’t exactly have a foothold in the emerging markets (though the criteria only refers to a “presence” in emerging markets). But several other high-end brands that tend to cater only to the very wealthy also made the list, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and more.

Tech companies dominated the top 10, with Apple just narrowly edging Google into second place. Apple’s brand value amounts to an estimated $98.3 billion, while Google’s is estimated to be just a few thousand dollars less than that at $98,291,000,000. Apple and Google were followed by IBM at number four, Microsoft at number five, Samsung at number eight, and Intel at number nine. Amazon rose 27% to number 19 (with a brand value of $23 billion), while Facebook rose 43% to the number 52 spot (with a brand value of $7.7 billion).

Nokia fell 57% to the number 57 spot, while Dell fell 10% to number 61.

Coca-Cola has held the top spot for the last 13 years—since Interbrand began publishing its list of the Best Brands. So how did Apple scoot Coca-Cola over?

“For revolutionizing the way we work, play, and communicate—and for mastering the ability to surprise and delight—Apple has set a high bar for aesthetics, simplicity, and ease of use that all other tech brands are now expected to match, and that Apple itself is expected to continually exceed,” the report reads.

While the rest of the tech sector has remained fairly steady with the average brand value coming in at $30 billion (up from $32 billion last year), Apple’s brand value has grown exponentially to $98.3 billion from $76.6 billion last year. In 2009, Apple and the rest of the tech sector were fairly neck-and-neck at $33.4 billion and $27.7 billion respectively.

“It’s Apple’s ability to ‘think different’—truly different—and to deeply consider our needs that will keep it on, or near, the top for years to come,” the report reads. 

image source: dailytech.com