The Top Brands of 2007
By: DEAN R. KARAU
September 2007
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
"What do these famous brands have in common (besides not making my colleague John Pickerill’s list of the five greatest Minnesota trademarks)?"
These brands finished in the top five of global brands by value, according to Interbrand, which just published its 2007 annual ranking of the Best Global Brands, in cooperation with BusinessWeek Magazine.
The winner, and still champ, is the Coca-Cola brand, with an estimated value of over $65 billion. Microsoft is second with an estimated value of $58 billion, followed closely by IBM at $57 billion and GE at $51 billion. Nokia finished out the top five at $33 billion. The top four positions remained unchanged from last year, while Nokia moved up one spot as the result of a 12 percent increase in value.
According to Interbrand, to qualify for the list, “each brand must derive at least a third of its earnings outside of its home country, be recognizable outside of its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data.”
The top gains in brand value were Google (44%), Zara (22%), Apple (21%), Nintendo (18%) and Starbucks (17%). Interbrand concludes that the winners and gainers are brands that “move and evolve with consumer attitudes and behaviors and create a motivating strategy that it delivers against.”
In contrast, Interbrand says that brands which lost value “seem to have lost the ability to create demand.” The big losers were Ford (19%), The Gap (15%), Kodak (12%), Pizza Hut (9%) and Motorola (9%).
Click here to read the entire Interbrand analysis.