Apple and Amazon stride ahead in Interbrand trawl

Apple and Amazon have made the biggest gains in brand equity this year, with Kodak and Nintendo topping the list of worst performers, according to figures out this week.

In its annual survey of global brands ranked by brand value, Interbrand concludes that the values of the top 100 brands increased collectively by 2.2 per cent over the 12 months from June 2003.

At the head of the table the top five names are unchanged. Coca-Cola remains in pole position with a brand valued at $64 394m (£35 000m), down 4 per cent on last year. Microsoft, IBM, General Electric and Intel retain their positions of second to fifth respectively, while Nokia was the biggest faller in absolute terms, losing $5400m (£2900m) of brand equity in the past year.

Apple, 43rd in the table, improved its standings by 24 per cent, thanks largely to the success of the iPod range, says Interbrand chief executive Jez Frampton.

On-line brands Amazon (number 67) and Yahoo (61) saw the next biggest rises in brand value, with gains of 22 and 17 per cent respectively, according to the figures.

The survey notes the fast food sector was ‘particularly hard hit as a result of bad publicity and [as] consumers focused on [countering] obesity and eating healthier’. Burger King dropped out of the top 100 altogether.

‘There’s been superb play by the technology brands this year,’ says Frampton, ‘and we would expect Google to be in there next year too. I think the fast food sector has had a hard time of things, though McDonald’s has actually managed to increase its value by 1 per cent.’

Financial services brands improved steadily, with Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan all increasing the worth of their brands substantially.

Interbrand reports that luxury brands performed well this year, with Cartier, Porsche and Estée Lauder entering the tables.

The consultancy calculates brand value as the net present value of earnings deemed to have been generated by the brand.

Biggest risers

Apple +24%

Amazon +22%

Yahoo +17%

Samsung +16%

HSBC +15%

Biggest fallers

Kodak -33%

Nintendo -21%

Nokia -18%

AOL -15%

Ford -15%