Advertising agency Millward Brown have released the BrandZ 2011 top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands and for the first time in 4 years it’s Apple that has claimed top spot, ousting Google’s strangle hold on the position. Amidst all the issues Apple faced last year with with the iPhone 4 leaks, having Antennagate, Glassgate, CEO Steve Jobs taking time off for health reasons and the delay of the white iPhone they still managed to increase their brand value by 84% and is worth a whipping $153 billion. Apple released all new products this past year of the iPhone, iPad and iMac and have a legion of devoted followers.
Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, stated that “Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model… It’s doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire… Obviously, it has to be allied to great products and a great experience, and Apple has nurtured that.”
Google – which seems to be involved in almost every business these days brand value somehow dropped 2% over the 2010 results and is worth $111 billion. Seems a bit ironic as their Android platform has significantly increased around the world over the last 12 months. As for our own Canadian Research in Mobile (RIM), well, they have dropped by a stunning 20% in brand value and are worth $24 billion. Hopefully RIM will be able to pull themselves back up with the release of their upcoming new smartphones and PlayBook tablet. (RBC, TD Bank and ScotiaBank were the only other Canadian brand to make the top 100 list at numbers 39, 42 and 87).
