Apple beats Coca-Cola as world’s most valuable brand

By Alexander Joe

Apple overtook Coca-Cola as the world’s most valuable brand in 2013.

Coca-Cola, which is now number 3, had been king for 13 consecutive years. Google came second.

The new report “Best Global Brands 2013”, which ranks the world’s top 100 brands, was created by Interbrand, a U.S. company that creates and manages brand value. It will be released on Monday.

In an interview with the New York Times, Jez Frampton, global Chief Executive for Interbrand, said he felt it was just “a matter of time,” before Apple hit top place. Frampton added “What is it they say, ‘Long live the king?’ This year, the king is Apple.”

Apple was number 8 in 2011, and number two in 2012.

The Apple brand rose in value by 28% in 2012 to $98.3 billion this year, the report authors wrote, compared to a 2% increase for Coca-Cola.

Five of the top ten best global brands for this year are in technology – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and Intel.

10 Best Global Brands for 2013:

  1. Apple
  2. Google
  3. Cocal-Cola
  4. IBM (ranked as a business services brand)
  5. Microsoft
  6. General Electric
  7. McDonald’s
  8. Samsung
  9. Intel
  10. Toyota

If IBM has been ranked as a technology brand, there would have been six in the top ten.

Google rose to 2nd from 4th place the previous year, Microsoft remained unchanged at 5th, Samsung rose to 8th from 9th, while Intel dropped to 9th from 8th.

Frampton believes the top technology brands are changing the way people behave, how we go about making purchases, and how we interact with one another.

Last year, Facebook appeared as the world’s 69th most valuable brand – it has jumped to 52nd in 2013. Blackberry is no longer in the top 100 (in 2010 it was 56th and a year later 93rd).

Chevrolet enters the list for the first time in 89th place – in fact, this is the first time any General Motors brand has entered to top 100 list.

Apple most valuable brand in a European report

Other organizations have valuable brand league tables. Eurobrand, known is Europe as independent experts for brand, patent & IP valuation and strategy, looked at over 3,000 brand corporations and their brands in sixteen nations, comparing brand values in America, Europe and Asia.

Eurobrand placed Apple at number 1 for 2013, but for the second year running. Eurobrand’s list has American companies holding the top ten places.

Top ten brand corporations according to Eurobrand’s “GLOBAL TOP 100 Brand Corporations 2013”:

  1. Apple
  2. Coca-Cola
  3. Google
  4. Microsoft
  5. IBM
  6. McDonald’s
  7. P&G (Procter & Gamble)
  8. Philip Morris
  9. Johnson & Johnson
  10. at&t

Eurobrand added that the “US brand landscape is dominated by IT& technology and Consumer Goods representing 41% of Global TOP 100 brand corporations.

Europe represents 43% with German brand corporations leading, whilst Asian brands account 15% and Brazil 1%.”

According to Eurobrand, LVMH is Europe’s most valuable brand, while in Asia it is China Mobile.

“BrandZ Index of 2013”, a report compiled by American brand consultancy Millward Brown Optimor, ranks Corona as the most valuable brand in Latin America, followed by TelCel.

Find out the most valuable brands of 2013, according to Interbrand and Forbes.