The big Best Global Brands report from Interbrand has been released, and for the first time, Coca-Cola is not the number one brand. It actually fell to number three, with Apple and Google holding the first and second spots respectively.
In fact, Coca-Cola is sandwiched in between tech companies, with IBM holding the number four spot, followed by Microsoft at number five and GE at number six. Rounding out the top ten are McDonald’s at number seven, Samsung at number eight, Intel at number nine and Toyota at number ten.
Some other noteworthy tech and Internet companies on the list are Cisco at number thirteen, HP at number fifteen, Oracle at number eighteen, Amazon at number nineteen (one of the “top risers”), SAP at number twenty-five, eBay at number twenty-eight, Seimens at number forty-five, Facebook at number fifty-two, Nokia at number fifty-seven, Dell at number sixty-one, and Adobe at seventy-nine.
It will be interesting to see if Coca-Cola can climb back up next year, but it’s not looking good, considering recent stories about its products contributing to obesity, and things like this:
Of course, it’s not as though Apple and Google are without their brand problems. Apple’s new iPhone has already shown that its fingerprint sensor security technology is hackable, and Google is frequently in the news for privacy-related issues.
“Every so often, a company changes our lives—not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Apple now ranks #1,” said Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global CEO. “Tim Cook has assembled a solid leadership team and has kept Steve Jobs’ vision intact – a vision that has allowed Apple to deliver on its promise of innovation time and time again.”
The total value of all 100 brands listed in the report is $1.5 trillion (up 8.4% from last year). Apple’s brand value, according to Interbrand, is $98.3 billion.
Chart: MarketingCharts