What are the World's Most Valuable Brands? 03/08/00 A recently released study by Interbrand shows Coca-Cola in top place for a second consecutive year. The World's Most Valuable Brands Survey, conducted on an annual basis by Interbrand, attempts to identify and rank the top global brands valued at US$1 billion or more. A total of 75 brands qualified for the ranking this year. Coca-Cola’s top ranking for a second consecutive year underscores the enduring strength of the brand in spite of crisis conditions over the course of the past year. While still the most valuable at US$72.5 billion, Coca-Cola’s brand value decreased by 13%. Despite the ongoing attempt by the US Justice Department to split up the company and the often negative media attention on its chairman, Bill Gates, Microsoft increased its brand value by nearly 24% over the past 12 months. Microsoft’s showing as the second most valuable brand in the world, with a brand value of US$70.2 billion, demonstrates the brand-building strength of technology and New Economy companies. According to Martyn Straw, President of Interbrand US, "Translating brand power into economic value begins and ends with a focus on brands as corporate assets. Companies that outperform their peers in brand value creation understand this well - and proactively manage their brands as they would other key strategic assets of the company as a way to secure long-term shareholder value." Key findings of the survey include: Technology reigns Technology companies (Microsoft at number 2, IBM at number 3, Intel at number 4 and Nokia at number 5) dominated the top five most valuable brands The tech industry was the biggest brand value builder in the past 12 months, with the majority of the tech companies in the top 75 experiencing double-digit brand value growth Internet brands showed the highest growth in the past 12 months, with Yahoo! (number 38) experiencing a 258% growth in brand value followed by Amazon.com (number 48) with a 233% increase from last year. Consumer products are still going strong. In addition to Coca-Cola’s number one ranking, traditional consumer products companies General Electric (number 6) and McDonald’s (number 9) made the Top Ten, with strong showings by Marlboro (number 11), Gillette (number 17) and Sony (number18) Luxury goods created significant value with Louis Vuitton (69%), Chanel (32%), Rolex (47%) showing strong double-digit growth US companies dominate the ranking. The US accounted for the majority of the most valuable global brands, with 42 of the top 75 In contrast, Europe had 27 of the most valuable brands, with such companies as Nescafe (number 22), SAP (number 39) and IKEA (number 40) among the global leaders Raymond Perrier, Managing Director of Interbrand added, "It is clear that global brands are still the main creators of wealth and will continue to drive wealth creation in the foreseeable future. Technological advances, such as the growth of the Internet, will continue to accelerate this globalisation trend. As demonstrated by this year’s Top Ten list, which remains nearly intact from last year, brands are arguably the most stable business asset a company can have. Coca-Cola and Microsoft are prime examples of this, each having faced exceptional challenges in recent months and yet emerging once again as the global brand heavyweights."