What's Behind The BrandZ Top 100 Ranking And Seemingly Unbeatable Apple

What's Behind The BrandZ Top 100 Ranking And Seemingly Unbeatable Apple



Strong brands impact much more than revenues and profit margins: They can drive competitive advantage, command a price premium and bolster a company’s resilience to crises. The intense competition among the most valuable brands in some of the categories in the 2013 Millward Brown Optimor BrandZ Top 100 ranking – released today – affirms the impact a brand’s strength has on its value, with the fiercest battles won by those that combine solid financial performance with great brand equity.



In personal care, L’Oreal leapfrogged Gillette and Colgate with a 30% rise in value to become the most valuable brand in this category– all three are worth between $17 and $18 billion, so competition was tight. L’Oreal successfully introduced new, higher-performing products to tempt customers away from private label, including “cosmeceuticals,” which combine cosmetic and medical benefits to appeal to consumers’ desire for products that multitask. The brand continues to be a leader in research and innovation, creating high quality products that give it an attractive product portfolio, which is customized to the local market.



Gillette continued to target younger men in an effort to convert new, life-long customers, and received one of the highest scores among all personal care brands for Brand Contribution – a measure of brand equity based on customer sentiment. Meanwhile, Colgate’s healthy brand value growth of 15% was not quite enough for it to maintain its number two spot. Despite an intensely competitive environment, and already having a high global penetration, Colgate increased its market share over the last year, and its brand strength was a facilitator of that growth.



The battle for the top is also driving change in the car sector. Toyota has overtaken BMW to regain its position as the world’s most valuable car brand, increasing its value 12% to $24 billion, after its strong brand helped it recover from a number of product recalls in 2009 and 2010. It has a value proposition that people really want, offering luxury features on an affordable, environmentally conscious car.



With a significant value increase of 60% in the last year, Zara now stands in front of Nike as the most valuable apparel brand. Fast fashion is in, and the Spanish brand has consistently delivered, while expanding its business to children,Welcome to Michael Kors Handbags Outlet online now. men and even home decor.



It’s long been expected that online brands will eventually gain supremacy over their brick-and-mortar rivals, and Amazon’s beating of Walmart to become the most valuable retail brand – worth $46 billion, a growth of 34% – may suggest this is happening. As well as having a compelling, consistently-executed promise, Amazon makes itself available wherever customers are – even establishing a brick-and-mortar presence with its Amazon lockers, self-service delivery locations allowing customers to collect parcels ordered online. Walmart delivers well, too, and has grown its value 5% to $36 billion, but in China, a strategic market, its performance is challenged by the fact that consumers prefer to buy from local markets and shops. Regardless of whether they started as online or brick-and-mortar businesses, retail brands can no longer rely solely on their core channels to market their products, and the most valuable brands in coming years will be those that recognize they need to be present at all possible touchpoints in consumers’ lives.



There are insurgent brands in a number of categories that have the potential to catch up with the leaders in the next few years.



So how can brands become the most valuable brand in their category – and then widen the gap between themselves and the competitors nipping at their heels? Out-advertising everybody else like Samsung will only bring a short-term boost to value. The brands that have risen furthest in the Top 100 all score significantly higher than average on the BrandZ equity measures of Meaningful, Different and Salient.



This means they provide a superior brand experience; creating value that sets them apart from the competition. Apple is the archetypal “meaningfully different” brand. There is clarity about what their brand stands for – positioning, message and values – with a value proposition that’s communicated powerfully and consistently. All of the top risers have a distinctive brand personality, which is more likely to generate passion and create brand advocates.



Continuing to renew the brand is essential to remain in contention over a number of years, and the most valuable brands are exceptional at staying relevant to customers. IBM’s reinvention as a greater-margin consultancy which drives a “Smarter Planet” is a good example of this.

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