New data from Millward Brown, the brand evaluation firm, shows that Google (GOOG) is the world’s most valuable brand with a valuation of just over $100 billion. That is well above the No.2 brand, Microsoft (MSFT), at just over $76 billion.
Microsoft is a great deal larger than Google in revenue, so the figure does not make sense, at least at first sight.
The Google brand may well have a better future than Microsoft’s. Redmond’s market share in most of its key business from Windows to Internet Explorer is falling. The company had its first quarterly sales drop last year. In the meantime, Google is not only by far the largest company in the search industry; it has launched products like its Android handset software, and Google Apps business. The initial acceptance of these products is at least encouraging.
The two large brands on the list that grew the most quickly are Amazon (AMZN), which moved up 85% to $21 billion, and Blackberry, which rose 100% to $27 billion. Amazon has been able to successfully expand beyond its core e-commerce business with the launch of the Kindle and its internet TV business. Blackberry, the flagship product of RIM (RIMM) has begun to aggressively move beyond its roots as a business handset into the larger consumer market.
Guessing the names of the big losers would not be hard. Citi’s brand value fell 52% to $14.6 billion and Bank of America (BAC) lost 53% to $16.5 billion.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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