The Full List and Top 10 Best Global Brands 2021

Full List and Top 10: Best Global Brands 2021. Photo KnowInsiders

The combined value of the top 100 brands increased from $2,326,491 million in 2020 to $2,667,524 million in 2021 – a jump of nearly 15%. The average brand value increase in 2021 is 10%, significantly larger than the 1.3% in 2020, owed largely to the economic disruption caused by Covid-19.

Technology is the fastest growing sector, with an average brand value change of 23% year-on-year. It is also the most valuable sector by average brand value, followed by beverages and sporting goods.

Photo Interbrand

Tesla (#14) was the fastest growing brand of 2021, with a 184% increase in brand value.

Tesla also saw the largest rise in rankings, moving 26 places up the table, closely followed by Salesforce.com (moving up 20 places to #38) and PayPal (moving up 18 places to #42).

Sephora (#100) is the only new entrant to the rankings this year but its addition makes LVMH Group the biggest group entity in the table. LVMH group is the first to have five brands in the Best Global Brands table – Sephora, Louis Vuitton (#13), Dior (#77), Tiffany & Co. (#92) and Hennessy (#95).

Sephora — the multinational beauty and fashion product retailer — was the only new entrant this year, valued at $4,628 million. CEO Martin Brok credited the feat to his 35,000 colleagues across the globe and their culture of disruptive innovation.

With Sephora’s entry, the LVMH group became the first to have five brands — Louis Vuitton at 13th spot, Dior (at 77), Tiffany and Co (92), Hennessy (95) and Sephora (100) — in the list.

The brands were valued keeping three key components at the centre: analysis of the financial performance of the branded product or service; the role the brand plays in purchase decisions; and the brand’s competitive strength.

Interbrand Australia and New Zealand CEO Nathan Birch: “What we can observe is that the biggest brands are getting bigger.

'This is testament to a recurring theme, which is that a brand’s aim should be to be the biggest, or be different. A principle that many Australian brands could do well to heed.”

In August, Interbrand Australia and New Zealand launched its annual Breakthrough Brands report, which listed 10 brands with the potential to become global icons: Airtasker, Airwallex, Bluey, Go1, Go-To, Heaps Normal, Linktree, Lyre’s, Sharesies, and The Oodie.

Top 10 Global Brands 2021

(According to InterBrand)

1.Apple (US$408,251m)

2.Amazon (US$249,249m)

3.Microsoft (US$210,191m)

4. Google (US$196,811m)

5.Samsung (US$74,635m)

6.Coca-Cola (US$57,488m)

7.Toyota (US$54,107 million)

8.Mercedes-Benz (US$50,866 million)

9.McDonald’s (US$45,865 million)

10.Disney (US$44,183 million)

***

What Are the 10 Best Global Brands 2021?

1.Apple (US$408,251m)

Photo CNET

Apple has topped Interbrand's list of the Best Global Brands for the ninth year in a row.

New York-based management consulting firm Interbrand put the tech giant in first place on a list of the top 100 brands, assigning it a "brand value" of $408.3 billion, a surge of 26 per cent in a year.

Interbrand evaluates a firm's brand value based on its financial performance, influence on purchases and the brand's future competitiveness.

Apple has ensured everyone in the organisation is moving towards a "clear, ambitious goal", Interbrand said in its report.

Apple has successfully diversified its product portfolio and entered into new fields such as health care (with the Apple Watch now recording blood oxygen levels), subscription-services in entertainment, data-storage and music.

READ MORE: How Much iPhone 13 Will Cost - Check Prices Around the World

2.Amazon (US$249,249m)

Looking towards the next 12 months, Gonzalo Brujó, global president of Interbrand Group said that he could see Amazon overtake Apple to lead next year’s brand valuation as it continues to diversify its revenue streams, not least with the recent acquisition of legendary Hollywood film studio MGM, but he also warned that a lack of focus could harm its fortunes too. He also cites the need to be trusted in order to grow brand value, an issue Amazon must remember and one, he believes, could harm Facebook’s future outlook too.

“When a brand has too much power, they receive much more criticism from the customer. You need to be real, you need to be trustworthy.”

3.Microsoft (US$210,191m)

In 2021, Microsoft’s global brand value exceeded 410 billion U.S. dollars. Microsoft grew its brand value by an estimated 26 percent compared to the previous year, cementing its position as one of the most valuable brands worldwide.

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology company offering a wide range of consumer and enterprise software, hardware, services, and electronics. Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, the company has expanded its product portfolio for almost 50 years, now reigning as one of the most influential tech conglomerates in the world. Microsoft’s revenue surpassed a record 143 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and although competitors such as Apple continue to eat away at Microsoft’s market share, Windows remains the most popular operating system worldwide by a significant margin.

4.Google (US$196,811m)

Photo: Digital Trends

For the first time, search engines are included in Brand Finance’s annual ranking of the world’s most valuable and strongest media brands, with Google claiming the top spot, following a 1% increase in brand value to US$191.2 billion.

Technology has become an integral part of all businesses, so Brand Finance has reclassified brands into the industries they are revolutionising. As a search engine, most of Google’s revenue is derived from advertising, leading to its inclusion as a media brand and the extension of the Brand Finance Media ranking to include 50 brands this year.

Google also owns the majority of internet advertisement infrastructure – controlling about 90% of search ads, managing the main ad exchange and server, running popular browser Chrome, and dominating smart devices with its Android operating system. Moreover, it manages widespread data centres, as well as a large portion of the cloud, which is where most of the ad dynamics occur. In addition to capitalising on ad spend, Google has since expanded into a variety of fields such as hardware, entering the smartphone industry by releasing the Pixel, its first handset.

READ MORE: Top 30 Funny Things to Ask Google

5.Samsung (US$74,635m)

Photo Samsung

Samsung has retained its place as Asia’s most valuable brand and the fifth most valuable globally. The South Korean powerhouse saw a 9% growth in brand value, up to US$102.6 billion and breaking the US$100 billion mark for the first time. The firm’s business practices and new innovations have doubtlessly contributed to this strong growth despite COVID-19.

The tech titan’s release of the world’s first 5G phone has increased the brand’s familiarity with consumers and reasserted its status as a market leader and innovator. The brand also benefitted from the region-wide tendency towards diversification and conglomeration, which has built resilience in the face of pressures from the pandemic.

6.Coca-Cola (US$57,488m)

Photo Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola ranked as the strongest brand in the United States, according to Brand Finance, even though its brand value decreased 13% to $33.2 billion. London-based Brand Finance, a brand evaluation company, also evaluates the strength of brands based on factors such as marketing investment, customer familiarity, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation. Coca-Cola scored 91.7 out of 100 on a brand strength index score.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola took over the top US spot from Disney, which fell to the fourth spot with an 89.7 brand strength index score after its brand value decreased 9% to $51.2 billion. PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY, was ninth in the United States as its brand value dipped 3% to $18.4 billion. Its brand strength index score was 88.4.

7.Toyota (US$54,107 million)

Photo Toyota Tacoma

Toyota, a Japanese automaker, has become the most valuable automobile brand in the world in 2021, according to a report released by Brand Finance. The Japanese automaker has overtaken Mercedes-Benz to gain the top spot. As per the report, the brand value of Toyota increased by 2 percent at USD 59.47 billion against 58.07 billion in the last calendar year. The luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz witnessed a drop of nearly USD 7 billion to get valued at USD 58.2 billion, compared to USD 65.04 billion in the year 2020.

According to the report, Toyota managed to make a strong comeback as the company did not allow the Coronavirus pandemic to impact its manufacturing volume much. Also, the improvements made to the volumes, mainly in China where the third-quarter growth of the carmaker stood at 50 percent in the net profit, added to the cause.

8.Mercedes-Benz (US$50,866 million)

Mercedes-Benz has cemented its top place as the only European brand in the top ten of the “Best Global Brands 2021”. The brand with the three-pointed star stands at number eight in the latest rankings published by renowned US brand consultancy Interbrand – a position it has held since 2018. The brand value has risen three percent since 2020 to 50.866 billion US dollars. It means that Mercedes-Benz retains its position as the world’s most valuable luxury car brand for the sixth year in a row, and the only one in the top ten.

“Our continued ranking in the top ten and the increased brand value are successes that we at team Mercedes-Benz are very proud of. This result validates our strategic direction yet again – as a company but also in terms of our brand positioning. Across all our brands, Mercedes-Benz is transitioning from a traditional understanding of luxury to a modern interpretation that emphasises aspects such as approachability, innovation and individuality, that establishes an awareness of a world of new possibilities and that inspires enthusiasm for sustainable mobility,” says Bettina Fetzer, Vice President Communications and Marketing Mercedes-Benz AG.

Mercedes-Benz is preparing itself for becoming all-electric before the end of the decade – wherever market conditions allow. The aim is to “Lead in Electric” and “Lead in Car Software”.

9.McDonald’s (US$45,865 million)

Photo So Yummy

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S.; International Operated Markets; and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations in the United States. The International Operated Markets segment comprises operations and franchising of restaurant in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the U.K. The International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate segment consists developmental licensee and affiliate markets in the McDonald's system. The firm's products include Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, wraps, McDonald's Fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafé beverages, and other beverages.

10.Disney (US$44,183 million)

Photo Disney

Disney maintains its leading position through its measured focus on brand loyalty, investment in new technologies, and the expansion of its valued partnerships and divisions. Such is the brand’s appeal that with an AAA+ brand rating and a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 92.3, it also came out as the strongest brand in the world not just within the media sector, but across all categories in this year’s Brand Finance Global 500 study.

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented:

“Disney has once again waved its magic wand and maintained the title of the most valuable media brand in the world. As a well-loved entertainment brand, Disney has a unique ability to use nostalgia to harness childhood memories amongst its customer base. Revisiting old Disney classics like ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with live-action remakes has proved wildly popular at box offices worldwide.”

Nevertheless, with the recent purchase of a majority stake in 21st Century Fox for US$52.4 billion, Disney can develop its exceptionally strong brand to deliver more for completely new audiences. The addition of companies like Star India – which reaches hundreds of millions of viewers on the subcontinent, Sky – with presence across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Italy, as well as a 60% stake in Hulu and plans to open a new streaming platform, mean that Disney can look to capitalise on this greater international exposure and establish its brand as much more than just a children’s favourite.

Disney’s acquisition of Star India could be a game changer in this fast-growing media market. Disney will be able to take advantage of new opportunities, such as access to cricket broadcasting rights and syndicating Disney productions across Star India’s 50+ TV channels in eight languages and the popular Hotstar streaming service. With over 150 million households, India is the second-largest subscription TV market in Asia, and acquisition of Star India will give Disney a strong edge over competing content providers on the continent. Star’s TV business could also bring in new advertising revenue at a time when US ad spending is growing at a slower pace.

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