Apple’s global brand value is worth more than US$83 billion, according to the Millward Brown Optimor BrandZ Top100 Most Valuable Global Brands report, which was released Wednesday. According to the company, Apple’s brand is the third most valuable brand, just being number two IBM ($86.3 billion). Google was ranked number one, with a global brand value of $114.6 billion.
Microsoft’s brand is now worth less than Apple’s, according to Milward Brown Optimor, with a number four ranking worth $76.3 billion. This marks the first time tech companies have occupied the top four places, and soft drink peddler Coca Cola rounded out the top five with a brand value of $68 million.
The company ranks brands of companies that sell products directly to consumers - for instance, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Nestlé are not included in the ranking.
Apple’s brand value increased 32% year-over-year, a significant increase Millward Brown Optimor attributed Apple’s careful image management. The company moved from #29 last year, a jump of 26 places.
“This increase is a tribute to the company’s ability to transform itself from an electronics manufacturer into a brand that is central to people’s lives,” the firm wrote in its report. “Apple manages to celebrate creativity and self- expression while, anticipating consumers’ needs and wants and meeting those needs with solutions that are noteworthy for their ease of use and elegance of design. Apple benefited specifically from the popularity of the iPhone, its 100,000 apps, and anticipation for the iPad.”
BrandZ Chart