For the first time since it began compiling its Best Global Brands report in 2000, Interbrand now lists Apple as the world’s most valuable brand. Since the inception of the Interbrand report, Coca-Cola has taken out the top spot for the last thirteen years straight. Apple took second place on the list last year, moving from eighth in 2011, but has now claimed the top position with an estimate brand value of $98.3 billion, a 28 percent increase from 2012.
Coming in second is global search giant Google with an estimated brand value of $93.3 billion, which made a significant 34 percent gain from 2012, putting it on track to challenge and potentially topple Apple in 2014. Coca-Cola slipped to third, despite the fact that its brand value also rose by 2 percent. However, with Apple and Google on a much higher trajectory, Coke’s brand value could not match the two tech titans at an estimated $79.2 billion.
Of the top ten Best Global Brands in 2013, five are tech companies. Microsoft remains in the top 10 at the number 5 position, while Samsung and Intel swapped places with Samsung moving up from 9 to 8, and Intel dropping from 8 to 9. Samsung’s rise has been credited to a brand strategy that dubbed the ‘Brand Ideal,’ which emphasises the ‘social purpose’ of its whitegoods and consumer electronics.
