Apple, Amazon Lead Interbrand Global Brand Value Research

The world’s business sectors have experienced dramatic shifts over the last 18 months, which is exemplified in the latest Interbrand Best Global Brands research for the year, in which Apple has been named the world’s most valuable brand, beating out Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Samsung, among many others. Perhaps more than ever before, the world is looking towards brands to make a difference, and while many now groan when they hear the word “purpose” linked to a conversation involving marketing, the world faces systematic challenges that only the world’s largest businesses can solve. In response, the annual research also highlights the role of “leadership” by brands, with the majority experiencing growth over the last 12 months. Of the 100 brands to feature, Elon Musk’s car-maker Tesla recorded the largest annual growth of 184% at $36,270 million, while league leader Apple saw a 26% increase to $408,251 million and second place Amazon had a 24% increase, reaching $249,249 million. “It seems that brands are recovering faster than expected,” outlines Gonzalo Brujó, global president of Interbrand Group while speaking to Adweek. “That is a good signal for the world economy.” A growth in luxury demand As with Tesla, there was a clear sign of growth for luxury brands—eighth-placed Mercedes grew by 3% to $50,866 million, 12th placed BMW by 5% to $41,631 million, 13th placed Louis Vuitton by 16% to $36,766 million and Chanel in 22nd place with 4% growth and a value of $22,109 million. The list of 2021's Brand Value rankings Brujó believes that the secret of Tesla’s success is its focus on customer service over anything else, citing the value of the company compared to other car markers despite producing fewer vehicles each year. He also cites its mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” as a powerful focal point of its brand leadership. “Something that they do very well is when they create something they do it together with customers, they co-create. There are a lot of sessions with cooperation between Tesla engineers and the customers,” he continued, adding that the company has also overcome its problem of product delivery on time too. The success of Apple and Amazon With Apple in the top spot for 2021, Brujó cites the company’s investment into new segments, beyond a core focus on selling iPads and iPhones, that enrich the lives of users such as the Apple Watch which is able to monitor health and provide measurements in real-time to ensure a healthy lifestyle can be maintained. The company’s ongoing subscriptions through Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple cloud were other aspects cited as being a major element in Apple’s continued success. When a brand has too much power, they receive much more criticism from the customer.Gonzalo Brujó, global president of Interbrand Group “It is like operating like a logistics company to make sure that you can receive things more. That retail channel and the way that they work with their retail stores is working very well,” he stated. “One of the biggest successes by buying online with Apple is having everything related to auto-pay… a lot of things are happening there and it is moving along well.” Looking towards the next 12 months, however, Brujó also said that he could see Amazon overtake Apple to lead next year’s brand valuation as it continues to diversify its revenue streams, not least with the recent acquisition of legendary Hollywood film studio MGM, but he also warned that a lack of focus could harm its fortunes too. He also cites the need to be trusted in order to grow brand value, an issue Amazon must remember and one, he believes, could harm Facebook’s future outlook too. “When a brand has too much power, they receive much more criticism from the customer. You need to be real, you need to be trustworthy.”Another company he cites as having a greater potential for growth over the coming year is Adobe, which ranked at 21 with a brand valuation of $24,832 million due to the ability of its products to increase creative productivity. Reimagining Brand Loyalty and Value in the Digital Age With Petco's Tariq Hassan

Brand Purpose

Apple and Amazon Lead Global Brand Value Research While Tesla Has Greatest Momentum

The research is conducted annually by Interbrand which charts the top 100 global companies by valuation

Stephen Lepitak

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Stephen Lepitak