Google surpasses Apple as the worlds most valueble brand

[FlameOn]

Google has surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable brand. Apple was formerly at the top of the rankings for over 3 years but has been overtaken in the 2014 published rankings. Google has grown 40% year over year and during the same period, Apple declined over 20%.

According to Millward Brown Optimor VP Oscar Yuan, it’s Apple’s lack of innovation and ground breaking new products that has lead to their decline, creating products that are merely evolutionary and no longer revolutionary. As Apple stagnates, Google on the other hand — with their Google X Labs ventures — is constantly moving forward. Look no further than ground breaking new products like Google Glass, Project Ara, self driving cars, and their WiFi balloons — is there any question how, or why Google took over Apple’s spot?

Giantic infographic of the results. Spoiler for size

Spoiler!

Other interesting tidbits

Share of life: Successful brands such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tencent and LinkedIn are more than just tools, they have become part of our lives. They offer new forms of communication that absorb people’s attention and imagination, while also helping them organise the rest of their lives at the same time. To gain more of our mind-space, brands such as Tencent and Google are even crossing categories. This trend also pushed No 1 Apparel brand Nike, a prime example of a brand seeking to become a share of life brand which offers services such as Nike+ that extend well beyond its functional raison d’etre.

Purpose beyond profit: Brands in business for reasons beyond the bottom line have a better chance of success in today’s world. For example, Pampers, which promotes mother and baby health issues, is at number 39 in the ranking and grew its value by 10% to $22.6 billion. Dove, which has continued to find huge success on the back of its ‘real women’ philosophy, has a brand value of $4.8 billion.

Apparel fastest growing category: The top 10 apparel brands grew in value by 29% to nearly $100 billion this year, outpacing cars (up 17%) and retail (up 16%). With brands such as Uniqlo, Nike and Adidas all recording double-digit increases in their valuation.

Technology service companies continue to climb: Not only are the top four brands technology companies, but so too are many of this year’s biggest risers. This year’s fastest climber was leading Chinese internet brand Tencent, up 97% to $54 billion and the number 14 position, followed by Facebook which rose 68% to $36 billion and took the No 21 spot. New brands in the Top 100 include Twitter at No 71 with a brand value of $14 billion and LinkedIn at No 78 worth $12 billion. Collectively, Technology companies make up 29% of the value of the BrandZ Top 100 ranking.

High value brands provide faster growth: An analysis of the BrandZ™ rankings as a ‘stock portfolio’ over the last nine years shows a highly favourable performance compared to a wider stock market index, the S&P500. While the value of the companies in the S&P500 index grew by 44.7%, the BrandZ™ portfolio grew by 81.1%, proving that companies with strong brands are able to deliver better value to their shareholders. A graphic is available here.

Brands from the Western World bounced back in 2014, with a greater proportion of both the number and value of brands within the top 100. This reflected the resilience of established brands and the breakthrough of new brands, as well as improved economic conditions. As a result, the number of brands from fast growing economies slipped in 2014.China, with 11 brands, continues to have the largest representation, two Russian brands, Sberbank and MTS, remain in the ranking, and mobile operator MTN is Africa’s representative for the third consecutive year.

http://www.millwardbrown.com/BrandZ/...al_Brands.aspx

[MrMastodonFarm]

As Apple stagnates, Google on the other hand — with their Google X Labs ventures — is constantly moving forward. Look no further than ground breaking new products like Google Glass, Project Ara, self driving cars, and their WiFi balloons — is there any question how, or why Google took over Apple’s spot?

Not at all.

Google is constantly doing cool things. Project Ara is really interesting, especially when you see (on this forum) constantly saying that innovations in smartphones have peaked.

[Azure]

Really not surprising. Article doesn't even mention the push Google has made into robotics which will turn out to be much bigger than anything else they're doing right now.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Slightly OT, but I hope Google makes the push towards exploring Mars, and gets it done before NASA.

[GGG]

Isn't this some meaningless report based on nothing by a consulting company trying to sell brand management services.

The value of a brand isn't really measurable in any meaningful way.

[Pizza]

Isnt the point of branding is easy recognition by the general mass public?

So how the heck is IBM at #3?

[Thor]

Well we run a small mainframe, uses probably 1/10th of what big banks and governments use all around the world and its freakin crazy how much money they cost.

[Thor]

Geeple? Goople?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by fotze

Well this is just because of all the google sheeple.

What cute word did Fanin80 try to push for 2 years, Fandroid?

[FlameOn]

I wouldn't say the market research is entirely inaccurate though as it is just a mass survey of consumer perception. They do valuation based on brand perception and recognizably over a large pool of the public. While you can argue about the actual values assigned to the perception, you can't ignore the broad trends the survey is highlighting. To ignore the research and dismissing as a product of fanboys is to ignore the fact there is actual relevance to the data behind these numbers.

Take for example, cnet's market research on consumer interest in the next iPhone.
http://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-buyi...p-says-survey/

[Ozy_Flame]

Marlboro is up there? Sweet jeezuz.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Marlboro is up there? Sweet jeezuz.

No kidding. That kind of made me sad in this day and age that a cigarette company would still have that much influence.

[Beejsterious]

Marlboro, McDonalds, Coca Cola! LOL. No wonder the average human dies at 70.

[Thor]

Mentioned this story casually at work yesterday during lunch, 2 major apple fanboys were visibly bothered by it. There is a certain pleasure in seeing people so married to a brand get bothered by the must mundane news, its like you are attacking their family or core values.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Thor

Mentioned this story casually at work yesterday during lunch, 2 major apple fanboys were visibly bothered by it. There is a certain pleasure in seeing people so married to a brand get bothered by the must mundane news, its like you are attacking their family or core values.

As opposed to the Android fanboys dancing in the streets to the news? Lets not pretend that there isn't two fanboy parties here.

[Thor]

If you say so, I work in a 500ish people IT company and can't think of one person who gets so into their phone and the brand. I like my phone, but don't care if its samsung or HTC, etc..

The loyalty and fan fervor and dedication in Apple is quite unique.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Thor

If you say so, I work in a 500ish people IT company and can't think of one person who gets so into their phone and the brand. I like my phone, but don't care if its samsung or HTC, etc..

The loyalty and fan fervor and dedication in Apple is quite unique.

It's more about the operating system not the phone. There's simply no such thing as an internet phone thread that doesn't involve something along the line of "IOS suck's, Android is better" or "Android sucks IOS is better".

Apple has always had a dedicated fan base going back decades. This is nothing new and it's always been met with a lot of irrational hate and disdain whether it be the PC guys hating on Macs, MP3 player guys hating on iPods, or Android guys hating on iPhones. I get that everyone likes their brand but you said it yourself in that you take pleasure in what I guess you perceive as misery from someone that uses something different than you. Odd behaviour don't you think unless you have a personal dislike on some level for Apple or its users?

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Marlboro is up there? Sweet jeezuz.

Don't laugh, I bet we're only 5-10 years away from Hipsters wearing Marlboro branded t-shirts ironically.