Technology and emerging market brands the ones to watch, says FT
A special report in The Financial Times this week, looking at this year’s BrandZ survey, which is compiled by WPP subsidiary Millward Brown Optimor (MBO), highlights the importance of technology and emerging market brands.
“Google remains the world’s most valuable brand, but edging up close behind it are two other technology companies, IBM and Apple,” says the report. Technology is now the defining characteristic of seven of the top 10 brands, it says, with Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Marlboro making up the other three. Other brands in the top ten are Microsoft, China Mobile, General Electric and Vodafone.
This shift towards technology is a reflection of the importance of the internet and communications in the fortunes of many companies. It signals the need for efficient, streamlined and innovative management of global marketing communications – employing multi-market digital expertise, high local relevance and brand consistency.
Compilers of the 2010 BrandZ Top 100 ranking also noted the growing importance of brands from emerging markets. 13 of the top 100 brands now come from emerging markets – with seven from China, two each from Brazil and Russia, and one from India and Mexico respectively. In the 2006 ranking, China Mobile represented the only emerging market brand. This year, new entrants include Baidu, the Chinese search engine, Indian financial services group ICICI and Mexican mobile phone company Telcel.
The FT’s report also highlights the importance of a global, recognisable brand, particularly in a tough economic climate. International marketers may take heart from the fact that MBO calculates that a portfolio of the top 100 brands is 18.5% up from its level four years ago, compared with an 11.5% fall in the S&P 500. Its list of top 100 brands is updated each year.
Alongside effective global brand management within the marketing process, strong leadership, clear vision and innovation are also key, according the FT’s report: “Brands are playing their traditional role of giving companies some cushion against market pressures… they are hard to destroy,” it says.
Tags: Global Brand
