Apple is the Most Valuable Brand of 2013

Apple is 2013's most valuable brand in the world, according to Interbrand, which is a brand consulting firm closely followed by the industry for compiling the Best Global Brands in the world since 2000.

Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time,” Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand, said in a recent interview. Apple was No. 2 last year, climbing from No. 8 in the 2011 report.

The Cupertino-based American company could thank its overwhelming iPhone and iPad sales as well as the iTunes and the App Store sales for catapulting the company to number 1. The estimated brand value of Apple is now $98.3 billion, up 28% from last year.

But it is not only Apple that made waves, another American tech company, the search engine giant, Google, finishes at no. 2, which was last year's no. 3. It is up 28% with $93.2 billion. This comes as no surprise considering Android is now the world's most popular mobile operating system. It has the largest repository of applications and games as well through the Google Play Store.

The previous no. 1 brand of 13 years, Coca-Cola, dips to no. 3. Despite a 2% increase in Coca-Cola's value from 2012, which is now estimated at $79.2 billion, Apple and Google easily overtook it with double-digit increase in value.

Although “Coca-Cola is an efficient, outstanding brand marketer, no doubt about it,” Mr. Frampton said, Apple and other leading technology brands have become “very much the poster child of the marketing community.”

Among the top 10 Best Global Brands for 2013, five are in technology: Apple; Google; Microsoft, No. 5, unchanged from last year; Samsung, 8, compared with 9 last year; and Intel, 9, compared with 8 last year.

Samsung’s ascent followed the company’s adoption of a new brand strategy called the Brand Ideal, which includes “a greater focus on social purpose,” Sue Shim, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Samsung, said by e-mail. That reflected research indicating American consumers would switch brands to “one that was associated with improving people’s lives,” she added.

I.B.M., which is no. 4 in 2013 is down a notch from 2012. It is considered a business services brand. Otherwise, technology would account for 6 of the top 10.

“Brands like Apple and Google and Samsung are changing our behavior: how we buy, how we communicate with each other, even whether we speak with each other,” Mr. Frampton said. “They have literally changed the way we live our lives.”

Among other transformative technology brands that performed well in the new report was Facebook, which climbed to 52 from 69 last year, its first year on the list. However, not all technology brands fared well. BlackBerry, which tumbled last year to 93 from 56 in 2011, has disappeared from the list. And Nokia, which dropped to 19 from 14 in 2011, finished this year in 57th place — “the biggest faller” among the 100, Mr. Frampton said.

Among non-technology brands, a notable addition to the list was Chevrolet, at 89, the first General Motors brand to rank among the Best Global Brands. Discovery (no. 70) and Duracell (no. 85) also entered the coveted Top 100 positions. As before, mostly technology, FMCG, automotive, food and beverage, financial services, and alcohol brands made it to the Top 100. Most of the companies were also from the United States.

If there is any consolation for Coca-Cola, it remains far ahead of Apple and Google in "Likes" on Facebook. Coca-Cola has 73.2 million, compared with 9.8 million for Apple and 15.1 million for Google.