This is the dream of every business to be recognised among the most valuable brands in the world. These brands rule the roost and capture the imagination of the world. They continue to amaze people with their exciting products and services.
But, what makes a brand valuable? Perhaps, it is the stories these brands are able to tell their customers that creates a bond with them. It is the value that their products and services provide. It is the purpose, authenticity and the experience they create for their customers.
Not surprisingly, Apple tops the list of the most valuable brands in the world. The iconic Steve Jobs built one of the best ever companies captivating the audience with brilliant products and stories that built an emotional bond with them.
Apple is a design led company that rules the hearts of its customers and continues to grow at mind boggling pace.
The brand value is an estimation of a brand’s value in the marketplace. The technology companies with their global reach continue to be surge higher. They continue to influence customers, employees and investors with their execution capabilities and momentum.
Interestingly, the list of the most valuable companies in the world is dominated by software companies. Infact, the top five companies are all technology companies. Coca-Cola, Disney and Toyota are the only three companies in the top ten that are not technology companies.
The world’s biggest technology companies have dominated and got unprecedented power. They own the data and market making them stronger than most governments around the world. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon are controlling almost every aspect of our lives with their products and services.
With technology and software penetrating our day to day lives, it is expected that the dominance of these brands will continue longer. Infact, more companies around the world are increasingly adopting software and technology for their business processes & operations.
Here we look at the most valuable brands in the world.
1. Apple
Brand Value: $182.8 B
Brand Revenue: $228.6 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Tim cook
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California. Apple designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. It has been one of the most influential companies that has shaped the computing industry.
2. Google
Brand Value: $132.1 B
Brand Revenue: $97.2 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Sundar Pichai
Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. It has become one of the most prominent brands in the world. It’s headquartered at Mountain View, California. Google search has a dominant market share, indexes billions of pages and controls how people use the web.
3. Microsoft
Brand Value: $104.9 B
Brand Revenue: $98.4 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Satya Nadella
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. The company has had a major role in shaping the computing industry. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and services. The best known software products from Microsoft are Windows line of operating systems. The company is also a major player in enterprise software and cloud computing.
4. Facebook
Brand Value: $94.8 B
Brand Revenue: $35.7 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California. Its website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. It is now the most popular social networking sites in the world & Facebook reports over 2 billion active users around the world.
5. Amazon
Brand Value: $70.9 B
Brand Revenue: $169.3 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Jeff Bezos
Amazon is an ecommerce and cloud computing company based in Seattle, Washington that was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Amazon is the largest internet company by revenue in the world. The tech giant is also the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales.
6. Coca-Cola
Brand Value: $57.3 B
Brand Revenue: $23.4 B
Industry: Beverages
CEO: Mr. James Quincey
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink produced by The Coca-Cola Company. Originally intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton and was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.
7. Samsung
Brand Value: $47.6 B
Brand Revenue: $203.4 B
Industry: Technology
CEO: Mr. Kim, Ki Nam
With the surge in smart mobiles, Samsung has become a household name around the world. It is now one of the most powerful tech companies in the world with a wide range of consumer electronics products. In addition to the Galaxy phones, Samsung offers tablets, TVs, home appliances, home security, and more. The company was founded in 1938 & headquartered in Seoul, Korea. A business conglomerate with over 489,000 employees.
8. Disney
Brand Value: $47.5 B
Brand Revenue: $30.4 B
Industry: Leisure
CEO: Mr. Bob Iger
The Walt Disney Company or more commonly known as Disney is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world’s second-largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue, after Comcast. Disney was founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother. A company widely hailed for its animations & cartoon videos across the globe.
9. Toyota
Brand Value: $44.7 B
Brand Revenue: $176.4 B
Industry: Automotive
CEO: Mr. Akio Toyoda
Toyota Motor Corporation popularly known as Toyota, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. Toyota is the world’s second-largest automotive manufacturer. Toyota was the world’s first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year which it has done since 2012. It was founded in 1937. The company is widely recognised for its impeccable supply chain management.
10. AT & T
Brand Value: $ 41.9 B
Brand Revenue: $160.5 B
Industry: Telecom
CEO: Mr. Randall L. Stephenson
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. The company was founded in 1983 as was called SouthWestern Bell corporation formerly. It is now the world’s largest telecommunications company, the second largest provider of mobile telephone services, and the largest provider of fixed telephone services in the United States.
A great brand is one of the most valuable assets for a company. It helps them to influence, attract and build loyal customers. It also helps to attract the right talent, motivate them and build things that shape the future.
