The world's leading brands cannot afford to stand still in anticipation of change. Instead, they act ahead of the curve and continue to grow, not caring about maintaining the status quo. What makes them leaders in their industry is that they recognize the importance of investing in brand advancement while investing in innovation and improvement of existing products to stay ahead of the competition.
Interbrand consulting agency analysts have published Global Brands Report - rating of the most valuable brands in 2017.
It is based on three main factors:
- Financial indicators obtained through the sale of branded products and services.
- The role that a brand name plays in influencing customer choices
- Customer loyalty (brand contribution to the future profit of the company).
The annual top 100 of Interbrand includes only companies whose business operates on three or more continents, and receive a third of the profits outside their home country. Therefore, there is not a single Russian company in the list of the most expensive global brands.
This is what the most expensive brands of 2017 look like.
The five fastest growing brands this year are the largest social network Facebook (+ 48% in value), the online trading platform Amazon (+ 29%), software developer Adobe (+ 19%), the Adidas concern, which produces sports equipment, clothing and footwear for sports (+ 17%) and one of the favorite brands of coffee lovers Starbucks (+ 16%).
More than half of the world's top brands operate in one of four sectors:
- automotive industry (16 participants in the top 10);
- technologies (15 companies);
- financial services (12 brands);
- and consumer goods (9 brands).
The fastest growing sector in percentage terms was retail (19%), followed by sports goods (10%), technology (8%), logistics (7%) and financial services (6%).
According to a report by Interbrand, the United States dominates the 2017 Global Top Brands list with 52 brands in the top 100. The USA is followed by Germany (10 brands) and France with its eight brands (mainly fashion and beauty): Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Axa, L'Oreal, Danone, Cartier, Dior and Moet & Chandon.
As Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton said, “The only constant is change, and we are living in one of the most exciting times of change since the Industrial Revolution. The changes we see are social, professional, technological, economic, industrial and affect every aspect of trade and life. In this ever-changing context, growth is increasingly challenging. Businesses must find new ways to make the brand both easily recognizable and relevant to a particular culture, create a platform that allows them to get an exciting and unique experience, and also a means to remain relevant, meaningful and valuable. In this changing world, businesses need brands more than ever. "