Interbrand 2024 BGBs
Interbrand just released its annual Top 100 Best Global Brands rankings for 2024.
The relative positions of the brands don't move much from year to year, but I always take a quick look to see what's new.
I especially like the logo page (above). It's a kind-of super league table for people who care about things like this.
Which brands moved up? Down? Is anyone moving fast? If so, in which direction?
After a few minutes of this, it doesn't take me long to come to a different question. Why do I care?
I think it because as a media and marketing person, I've worked with/for many of the brands on this list and have a personal sense of which ones are deserving.
This year the top five are all tech brands - Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Samsung.
It comes as no surprise that Apple is #1, valued at ~$500B, with a comfortable lead ahead of #2 Microsoft, and something like the collective value of the bottom 50 on the list.
There are great reasons for this (category-defining products, retail experience, marketing, customer service, sustainability) but the one Interbrand likes to cite comes from its brand strategy.
When in 2007, when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, he also announced that Apple Computers would henceforth be known as Apple. “We’re dropping the ‘computer’ from our name and from this day forward we’re going to be known as Apple - to reflect the product mix we have."
This leads to one of the big insights in the report, about how brands can continue to stay vital and valued in such a chaotic and competitive world. This is what Interbrand calls having an Arena Strategy.
A what?
It's a little fuzzy, but the gist is that categories are passé. Or at least, constraining. Categories frame things on what is available in a market (like, automobiles) rather than consumer needs (like, transportation). By competing on what people need (Arenas) and having what Interbrand calls an Arena Strategy, brands can seek growth with purpose.
Ideas like this are why I read the report.
Speaking of that, an opening letter from Interbrand’s CEO explains a common practice among the companies that made the Top 100. They all use their brand to build deeper, more meaningful and more equitable relationships with their customers, which in turn drives loyalty, advocacy and permission.
That rings true, but how does all of this turn into a specific number? The brand valuation that comes with each listing?
Interbrand's valuation methodology is based on three components - the product/service's financial performance, the role of the brand in consumer purchase decision, the competitive strength of the brand. In the case of the global brand rankings, these are required to be present at global scale, not only in the brand's home region.
If you care about global brands, their value, which ones to watch, what to look for, this report is for you. You can download it from Interbrand's website, here - https://interbrand.com/
