Apple has retained its position as the world’s most valuable brand, according to the latest Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report. Last year Cupertino seized the No. 1 spot from Coca-Cola, a company 90 years older than Apple.
The report valued Apple’s brand at a whopping $118.9 billion, compared to the $100 billion it was valued at in 2013. In doing so it beat out Google, Coca-Cola, IBM and Microsoft, which filled out the remaining top five spots on the list.
Other tech companies which ranked highly on the top 100 list included Samsung (No. 7), Intel (No. 12), Cisco (No. 14), Amazon (No. 15) and Facebook (No. 29).
Brand value was determined by examining the financial performance of the brand in question, the role the brand plays in influencing customer choice, and the strength of the brand in command a premium price.
This isn’t the first time Apple’s been ranked as a no. 1 brand here in 2014. Recently the iPad beat out 255 other brands, including Disney, Nickelodeon, Toys”R”Us, McDonald’s and YouTube, to top the 2014 Young Love study showing brand loyalty among kids aged 6-12.
Regarding Apple’s performance in today’s Best Global Brands report, the authors noted that:
On September 9, 2014, Tim Cook held up a wallet and said, “Our ambition is to replace this.” A bold statement to be sure-but we’d expect nothing less from Apple, #1 on the Best Global Brands list for the second year in a row. Referring to Apple Pay, a new mobile payments platform that enables consumers to pay for items with Apple devices, Cook signaled that Steve Jobs’s 2001 vision of Apple becoming the “digital hub” of its consumers’ lives (Macworld Expo 2001) has finally been fulfilled.
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Not only is Apple using devices to broaden its penetration, it’s also credibly extending into new spaces. With the unveiling of Apple Watch-reportedly more capable than any other smartwatch on the market, not least of all in terms of advanced health monitoring-Apple’s future will rely heavily on its ability to partner effectively with healthcare companies. CarPlay, giving drivers access to their iPhone’s best features in the car, has brought the brand into the automotive space. HomeKit, providing seamless integration between accessories, promises to make our homes smarter. Apple Pay certainly has the potential to become the most powerful payment platform around. And the brand’s recent collaboration with IBM-to make big data and analytics more mobile and bring business apps to the iPhone and iPad-will strengthen its presence and reach in the enterprise space.
Clearly, Apple’s ambitions are formidable, which is why it’s been diligently acquiring the talent needed to achieve those ambitions. From hiring a TAG Heuer sales director and a Nike digital marketing director to Angela Ahrendts (former Burberry CEO), Paul Deneve (former Yves Saint Laurent CEO), and Jay Blahnik (Nike’s FuelBand developer), all signs point to big things on the horizon.”
Sounds like they’re setting Apple up for a three-peat victory next year, too…
