Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) beat Coca-Cola (KO) as top global brands

Not one but two tech companies, Apple and Google, beat the long-time front runner Coca-Cola in Interbrand's Best Global Brands rankings. Apple came out on top, Google second, but they are far from the only tech company to surge in the rankings.

|
Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/File
People check out laptop computers at the Apple Store (AAPL) in Grand Central Terminal in New York, New York.

"I’d like to buy the world an … iPhone"?

That’s the tune that Apple (AAPL) execs must be singing today after being named the best global brand by brand consultant Interbrand, usurping the top spot in the rankings from Coca-Cola (KO) which has been No. 1 for the past 13 years. But Apple is far from the only tech brand to move up in the rankings, signifying the rising power of tech in the global marketplace.

“Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but also with its ethos,” writes Interbrand on its profile of Apple as the new top brand. Interbrand says it's Apple’s ability to create “adoring fans," and simultaneously innovate in design and hardware that pushed it above the crowd. Apple's brand worth rose 28 percent in the last year to $98 billion, according to Interbrand. It came in second last year.

This is a big step for Apple, as many saw the release of the less-expsensive, colorful iPhone 5C as Apple’s first major bid in emerging markets around the world. Though the price came in higher than expected, the combination release of the iPhone 5S and 5C smashed first weekend sales records, selling over 9 million  devices around the world. The challenge for Apple now, according to Interbrand, is breaking into the Chinese smartphone market and siphoning value away from global smartphone powerhouse Samsung (who Interbrand ranks eighth and grew 20 percent in value from last year).

And Apple is not the only tech company rapidly rising to the top. Five of the Top 10 companies in the rankings are tech companies, including Google, which nabbed the second spot and its brand value grew 34 percent since last year. Four out of the five “top risers”, or companies which grew the most in value, are tech companies. Amazon grew 27 percent in value. Facebook grew 43 percent in value.

But not all tech companies saw soaring success. Nokia had the largest drop in the rankings, falling from 19 to 57 on the list. BlackBerry fell off the list altogether. Interbrand also noted that Apple has some "issues," including mistreatment of Foxconn factory workers, ongoing patent lawsuits with Samsung, and conspiring with publishers to fix e-book prices. All these will need to be worked out to keep its brand on top.

Interbrand first began ranking global brands in 2000, based on brand strength, economic profit, and role of the brand in purchase behavior. In the first set of rankings, there were only nine tech companies on the list and Google did not even make the list. Today, there are 12 tech brands on the to 100 list.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) beat Coca-Cola (KO) as top global brands
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2013/0930/Apple-AAPL-Google-GOOG-beat-Coca-Cola-KO-as-top-global-brands
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe