Landor Global ImagePower is the result of a 10-country survey of more than 11,000 Internet users showing that a stock price rated last or next to last among seven different aspects that contribute to brand strength. Other attributes surveyed included: corporate reputation, name brand recognition, company expertise, advertising, online presence and CEO reputation/personality. Landor surveyed Internet audiences from the United States, as well as Brazil, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico and Spain.

Conducted annually, Global ImagePower looks at the top 250 technology brands and measures how brands are perceived by customers across a number of core brand positions.

According to Dave Studeman, President of Digital Branding at Landor, "It's not surprising that financial performance has relatively little effect on brand resonance for companies that are successful in defining their positive brand attributes with customers. While a de-listing can raise serious concerns about the long-term prospects for a company, a strong brand is typically able to ride out a yo-yoing stock market."

The survey found that Sony and Microsoft lead the brand world. Sony and Microsoft's brands rank highest in the greatest number of brand measures with survey participants worldwide. This suggests that both brands have transcended their geographical roots to grab the largest mindshare from the greatest number of users.

Six trends have emerged from the survey that should serve as rules for companies who wish to create and maintain powerful and globally competitive brands.

The three trends that are important to be included:

• Relevance over differentiation. Successful brands adapt to demographic shifts by being aware of target audiences and adapting to meet current and future needs. Rather than launching the latest marketing campaign solely to achieve brand differentiation, a successful brand management strategy strives to achieve relevance in balance with other brand attributes. Successful brands follow the needs of customers, not vice versa.
  
• Bridging the digital divide. Countries with more longstanding exposure to the Internet tend to have more experienced users that are not primarily "technologically savvy." The US has the largest percentage of experienced Internet users (88%) but most of those online (79%) are not tech savvy. Companies building brands in the Internet space need to take into account the radical differences in behaviour and literacy among various online populations worldwide.
  
• Brands on the move. Nearly one-third of US consumers surveyed that own a Web-enabled phone, PDA or pager have engaged in mobile commerce. Findings suggest that e-commerce branding strategies will change dramatically as the mobile commerce market grows in importance in the US and globally. For example, nearly half of Chinese respondents have purchased goods or services with a wireless device.

• Speed. Findings show that brands with stronger momentum are long-established brands that Internet consumers globally feel have staying power, such as Microsoft and Sony. With rare exceptions, rapid-growth brands and "hip" niche brands are given inconsistent to middling rankings by consumers, suggesting a lack of confidence in "fast burn" brand strategies. Leadership brands belong to those who can build a track record of innovation over time and who sustain their momentum through times of market maturity and slow economic growth.
  
• Creating your own category. Brands who create their own category to differentiate themselves in a crowded market may be more inclined to fail than succeed in gaining consumer attention. Findings show that consumers rely on a brand's relevance to their daily life and needs. A winning brand strategy is all about creating demand in an era of high product perishability, not about creating new niches. Therefore, a brand with a truly unique offering will result in consumers creating the niche, rather than vice versa.
  
• Diluting the brand promise. A brand promise sets the expectations for customers in terms of what a company can deliver. When a company diversifies its product or service offerings - often as a way to spur growth - consumers can become confused by widespread and sometimes conflicting brand attributes. A rapidly growing company must ensure that the brand continues to resonate with core customers.